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Author: C. Neal Tate

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Governments of the World ■ ■ ■

A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

EDITORIAL BOARD ■ ■ ■ EDITOR IN CHIEF

C. Neal Tate Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University C. Neal Tate is Chair of the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he was Dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and Regents Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas. He has published widely on comparative judicial politics and international human rights. Professor Tate has been Director of the Law and Social Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation; President of the International Political Science Association’s Research Committee on Comparative Judicial Studies; President of the Southwest Political Science Association; and is President-Elect of the Southern Political Science Association. A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R S

Martin Edelman Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University at Albany, State University of New York Stacia L. Haynie Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Louisiana State University Donald W. Jackson Professor, Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University Mary L. Volcansek Dean, AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor, Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University

Governments of the World ■ ■ ■

A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

VO LU M E 1 ■

A F G H A N I S TA N to D J I B O U T I

C. Neal Tate, Editor in Chief

Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities C. Neal Tate, Editor in Chief

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Governments of the world: a global guide to citizens’ rights and responsibilities / C. Neal Tate, editor-in-chief. v. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-02-865811-6 (set hardcover: alk. paper) — ISBN 0-02-865812-4 (vol 1) — ISBN 0-02-865813-2 (vol 2) — ISBN 0-02-865814-0 (vol 3) — ISBN 0-02-865815-9 (vol 4) — ISBN 0-02-866073-0 (e-book) 1. Comparative government—Encyclopedias. I. Tate, C. Neal (Chester Neal), 1943JA61.G645 2006 320.3’03—dc22

2005010436

This title is also available as an e-book. ISBN 0-02-866073-0 Contact your Thomson Gale representative for ordering information. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION STAFF ■ ■ ■

Frank Menchaca, Executive Vice President and Publisher Hélène Potter, Director, New Product Development Jaime E. Noce, Project Editor Jennifer Albers, Mark Drouillard, Jason Everett, Brad Morgan, Contributing Editors Mark Springer, Senior Editorial Systems Implementation Specialist Kari Bethel, Patti Brecht, Paul Greenland, Kathleen Roy, Drew Silver, Copyeditors Christine Alexanian, Carol Brennan, Judy Clinebell, Eric Lowenkron, Eleanor Stanford, Proofreaders Dawn DesJardins, Rebecca J. Frey, Lisa Frick, Jeremiah Garretson, Helene Kiser, Christine Tomassini, Additional Editorial Support Linda Mamassian, Indexer Pamela A.E. Galbreath, Senior Art Director Dean Dauphinais, Senior Editor, Image Research & Acquisitions Lezlie Light, Coordinator, Imaging Michael Logusz, Imaging Specialist Christine O’Bryan, Graphics Specialist GGS Information Services, Graphic Art Compilation Lisa Kincade, Research Associate, Rights Acquisition & Management Jessica Schultz, Fulfillment Associate, Rights Acquisition & Management Ron Montgomery, Rights Acquisition Account Manager Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition & Electronic Prepress Mary Beth Trimper, Manager, Composition & Electronic Prepress Rhonda Dover, Senior Buyer

CONTENTS ■ ■ ■ VO LU M E 1 Preface . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . xv Thematic Outline of Topics . . xix Directory of Contributors . . xxiii

A Afghanistan . . . . . . Albania . . . . . . . Algeria . . . . . . . American Civil Liberties Union . . . . . . American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights . . . Amnesty International . . Angola . . . . . . . Antigua and Barbuda . . Apartheid . . . . . . Aquino, Corazon . . . . Argentina . . . . . . Armenia. . . . . . . Aung San Suu Kyi . . . Australia . . . . . . Austria . . . . . . . Azerbaijan . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

1 8 9 15

18 21 24 26 28 31 33 40 42 44 52 58

B Bahamas . . . . . Bahrain . . . . . . Bangladesh . . . . Barbados . . . . . Belarus . . . . . . Belgium. . . . . . Belize . . . . . . Benin . . . . . . Bhutan . . . . . . Bicameral Parliamentary Systems . . . . Biko, Stephen . . . . Bill of Rights . . . . Bolivia . . . . . . Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana . . . . . Brazil . . . . . . British Virgin Islands . Brunei . . . . . . Bulgaria . . . . . Burkina Faso. . . . Burundi . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . . .

61 62 64 71 72 74 79 81 82

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84 87 88 94 101 103 110 118 120 121 128 130

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133 139 146

C Cambodia. . . . Cameroon . . . Campaign Finance .

G O V E R N M E N T S

O F

. . .

T H E

W O R L D

vii

Contents

Canada . . . . . . . Cape Verde . . . . . . Caribbean Region . . . . Censorship . . . . . . Central African Republic . . . . . . Chad . . . . . . . . Children’s Rights . . . . Chile . . . . . . . . China (PRC) . . . . . . Citizenship . . . . . . Civil Law . . . . . . . Civil Liberties in Emergencies . . . . Civil Rights Movement in the United States . . . Colombia . . . . . . . Colonies and Colonialism . Common Law . . . . . Comoros . . . . . . . Confederations . . . . . Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire) . . . . . Congo, Republic of the . . Constitutional Courts . . . Constitutional Monarchy . . Constitutions and Constitutionalism. . . Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . . . . Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). . . Costa Rica . . . . . . Côte d’Ivoire. . . . . . Crimes Against Humanity . . . . . Croatia. . . . . . . . Cuba . . . . . . . . Cyprus . . . . . . . . Czech Republic . . . . .

. . . .

149 155 156 164

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169 171 172 176 183 189 195

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199

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206 210 217 221 226 228

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234 240 242 246

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252

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258

viii

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G O V E R N M E N T S

. . . . . O F

. . . . .

American Convention on Human Rights . . . . American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man . . . . . . Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution . . . . Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. . . . Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) . . . Filmography . Glossary . .

. . . . Cumulative Index .

. . .

. . .

.

325

.

332

.

336

.

338

.

342

. . .

349 359 369

VO LU M E 2 Preface . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . xv Thematic Outline of Topics . . xix Directory of Contributors . . xxiii

D . . .

261 263 269

. . . . .

276 278 285 291 293

. . . . .

299 301 307 314 320

D Dalai Lama Democracy Denmark . Dictatorship Djibouti .

Primary Source Documents

T H E

Dominica . . . . Dominican Republic . Due Process of Law .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

1 4 6

E East Timor . . . . . Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights . . Ecuador. . . . . . Egypt . . . . . . El Salvador . . . . . Elections . . . . . Equal Protection of the Law . . . . Equality Before the Law Equatorial Guinea . . Eritrea . . . . . . Estonia . . . . . . W O R L D

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13

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. . . . .

. . . . .

14 21 23 29 31

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

35 40 43 45 47

Contents

Ethiopia. . . . . . . Ethnic Cleansing . . . . European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms European Court of Human Rights . . . . . . European Court of Justice. European Microstates . . European Parliament . . European Union . . . .

. .

. .

48 50

.

.

55

. . . . .

. . . . .

61 64 71 73 76

. . . .

. . . .

83 89 90 95

F Federalism . . . . . . Fiji . . . . . . . . Finland . . . . . . . France . . . . . . . Freedom of Assembly and Association . . . . Freedom of Expression . Freedom of Information . Freedom of the Press . . Freedom of Religion and the State. . . . . Freedom of Religion, Foundations . . .

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. . . .

103 110 117 121

.

.

127

.

.

134

G Gabon . . . . . . Gambia, The . . . . Gandhi, Mahatma . . Gaza Strip. . . . . Gender Discrimination Genocide . . . . . Georgia . . . . . Germany . . . . . Ghana . . . . . . Gorbachev, Mikhail . Government Data Sets Greece. . . . . . Grenada . . . . . Guatemala . . . . Guinea. . . . . . Guinea-Bissau . . . Guyana . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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141 142 144 146 148 151 155 157 164 166 168 173 180 182 188 190 192

H Haiti . . Halakhah .

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195 201

Havel, Vaclav . . . . Hitler, Adolf . . . . Honduras . . . . . Hong Kong and Macau Human Rights . . . Hungary . . . . .

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203 205 207 209 215 221

Iceland . . . . . . . Immigration and Immigrants India . . . . . . . . Indigenous Peoples’ Rights . Indonesia . . . . . . . Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights . . . . . . Interest Groups . . . . . International Court of Justice International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . . . . . . International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . . . . International Criminal Court International Human Rights Law . . . . . International Humanitarian Law . . . . . . . Iran . . . . . . . . . Iraq . . . . . . . . . Ireland. . . . . . . . Israel . . . . . . . . Italy. . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

227 232 235 242 248

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255 258 261

.

266

I

. 267 . 269 .

274

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279 285 292 299 306 312

Primary Source Documents Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . . Human Rights Act of the United Kingdom . . . International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . . . . . . International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. . . .

G O V E R N M E N T S

O F

T H E

.

323

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331

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335

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342

W O R L D

ix

Contents

Filmography . Glossary . .

. . . . Cumulative Index .

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. . .

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349 359 369

VO LU M E 3 Preface . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . xv Thematic Outline of Topics . . xix Directory of Contributors . . xxiii

J Jamaica . . . . . Japan . . . . . . Jordan . . . . . Judicial Independence Judicial Review . . Judicial Selection. . Juries . . . . .

. . . . . . .

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. . . . . . .

1 8 14 19 25 30 35

K Kazakhstan. . . . . . . Kelsen, Hans . . . . . . Kenya . . . . . . . . King Jr., Martin Luther . . . Kiribati . . . . . . . . Korea, North . . . . . . Korea, South . . . . . . Kosovo . . . . . . . . Kuwait . . . . . . . . Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic) .

. . . . . . . . . .

41 43 44 51 53 54 59 64 70 75

L Laos . . . . . . . . . . 77 Latvia . . . . . . . . . 78 Lebanon . . . . . . . . 80 Lesotho . . . . . . . . . 82 Liberal Democracy . . . . . 84 Liberia . . . . . . . . . 90 Libya . . . . . . . . . . 96 Lithuania . . . . . . . . 102 Luxembourg . . . . . . . 104

M Macedonia . Madagascar .

x

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G O V E R N M E N T S

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107 109

T H E

Magna Carta . . . . . Majoritarian Party Systems Malawi . . . . . . . Malaysia . . . . . . Maldives . . . . . . Mali. . . . . . . . Malta . . . . . . . Mandela, Nelson . . . Marshall Islands . . . . Mauritania . . . . . Mauritius . . . . . . Mexico. . . . . . . Micronesia, Federated States of . . . . . Moldova . . . . . . Mongolia . . . . . . Morocco . . . . . . Mozambique . . . . . Myanmar (Burma) . . .

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110 113 116 118 124 126 128 130 132 133 136 137

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143 145 147 150 155 157

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163 166 171 173 174 177

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183 185 191 197 198

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205 210 212

N Namibia . . . . . Nationalist Movements Naturalization . . . Nauru . . . . . . Nepal . . . . . . Netherlands, The . . Netherlands Antilles and Aruba . . . New Zealand. . . . Nicaragua . . . . . Niger . . . . . . Nigeria. . . . . . Non-governmental Organizations . . Northern Ireland . . Norway . . . . .

O Oligarchy . . Oman . . . Ombudsmen.

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219 223 224

Pakistan . . . . Palestine . . . . Panama . . . . Papua New Guinea. Paraguay . . . .

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231 237 244 246 250

P

W O R L D

Contents

Parliamentary Systems Peacekeeping Forces . Peru . . . . . . Philippines . . . . Poland . . . . . . Political Corruption . Political Parties . . . Political Party Systems. Political Protest . . .

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256 262 269 275 281 287 291 297 303

Reproductive Rights. Republic . . . . Right to Privacy . . Romania . . . . Roosevelt, Eleanor . Russia . . . . . Rwanda . . . . .

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39 43 47 54 60 62 68

Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . . . . . Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . . . Samoa . . . . . . São Tomé and Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . . . . Senegal . . . . . . Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles . . . . . Shari’a . . . . . . Sierra Leone . . . . Singapore . . . . . Slovakia . . . . . Slovenia . . . . . Solomon Islands . . Somalia . . . . . South Africa . . . . Spain . . . . . . Sri Lanka . . . . . Stalin, Joseph . . . Stateless People. . . Student Rights . . . Sudan . . . . . . Suffrage . . . . . Suriname . . . . . Swaziland . . . . . Sweden . . . . . Switzerland . . . . Syria . . . . . .

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75 77

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S Primary Source Documents Constitution of the Iroquois Nations . The Magna Carta . . Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points . Filmography . Glossary . .

. . . . Cumulative Index .

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311 317

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325

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331 341 351

VO LU M E 4 Preface . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . xv Thematic Outline of Topics . . . . . . . xix Directory of Contributors . . xxiii

P Popular Sovereignty . . . . . 1 Portugal . . . . . . . . . 2 Presidential Systems . . . . . 7 Primaries . . . . . . . . 11

Q Qatar

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17

R Racism . . . . Referendums and Plebiscites . Refugees . . . Representation .

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19

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25 31 34

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78 80 81 83 88 90 92 94 97 99 106 108 109 111 113 119 125 126 128 130 133 137 144 146 148 154 160

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167 173 175 180 186 187 188

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195

T Taiwan . . . . . Tajikistan . . . . Tanzania . . . . Thailand . . . . Togo . . . . . Tonga . . . . . Totalitarianism . . Transitional Political Systems . . .

G O V E R N M E N T S

O F

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Contents

Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia . . . . . Turkey . . . . . Turkmenistan . . Tuvalu . . . . .

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200 202 203 209 211

Uganda . . . . . . . . Ukraine . . . . . . . . United Arab Emirates . . . . United Kingdom . . . . . United Nations . . . . . . United Nations Commission on Human Rights . . . . . United States . . . . . . Universal Criminal Jurisdiction . Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . . Uruguay . . . . . . . . Uzbekistan . . . . . . .

213 218 224 226 232 238 244 250 252 255 261

V . . . . .

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263 265 267 273 279

W War Crimes . . West Bank . . Women’s Rights.

xii

Yeltsin, Boris . Yemen . . .

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299 301

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303 305

Z

U

Vanuatu . . Vatican . . . Venezuela. . Vietnam . . Voting Rights.

Y

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G O V E R N M E N T S

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O F

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285 290 292

T H E

Zambia . Zimbabwe

. .

Primary Source Documents Convention on the Rights of the Child. . . . . International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. . . . Population Registration Act, no. 30 . . . . . . Preamble to the United Nations Charter . . . Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . Voting Rights Amendments to the Constitution of the United States . . Filmography . Glossary . .

. . . . Cumulative Index .

W O R L D

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315

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326

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330

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331

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332

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337

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339 349 359

PREFACE ■ ■ ■

Keeping up with the ever-changing global political landscape can be daunting. Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities is designed to make the task easier. The volumes provide accessible, authoritative background information about governments, political issues, and citizen politics in 198 regions, including every independent nation of the world and several territories under the jurisdiction of sovereign countries. Because no nation operates in complete isolation, Governments of the World reaches beyond regional issues to explore the roles of international courts and supranational institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union. The articles vary in length, ranging from 500 to 3,500 words. In general, we have provided shorter articles for countries that are comparatively small in geographic size or population or, in the judgment of the editors, of lesser economic or strategic significance. This does not mean countries represented by shorter articles are unimportant or uninteresting; many of them are fascinating, for any number of reasons. Common to all of the project’s authors has been the diligent struggle to select only the most vital information for inclusion. Because the work we have prepared is an encyclopedia, not a library, authors were forced to select for readers only the essential facts key to the comprehension of the world’s governments in the twenty-first century. Understanding the structure of the world’s governments, the interaction between governments and their citizens, and the intricacies of international relationships in a global environment entails much more than the study of isolated countries. To further the learning experience, a selection of articles present and explain in depth many of the institutions and concepts—including representation, dictatorship, and the role of political parties—crucial to the justification for and operations of governments and the roles played by citizens. Biographical sketches introducing readers to some of the most influential people in government and politics of the past century round out these 112 supporting articles. Each of the 310 articles, arranged alphabetically over four volumes and thematically catalogued in the frontmatter, has been newly commissioned for this project. Entries represent the work of over 200 international contributors. Entry G O V E R N M E N T S

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Preface

accessibility is enhanced by sidebars that explore key people, themes, and events. Numerous country maps, photos and illustrations help illuminate the text, while same-page definitions, entry-specific bibliographic citations, and cross-references help users delve more deeply into the topic. Ancillary materials—including a filmography, a glossary, and a cumulative index—provide additional tools for understanding the concepts presented in the set. A selection of primary documents, including international agreements and country-specific legislation, is reproduced in volume-specific appendices; these further explain the structure of governments and justifications and standards for promoting (or in some cases denying) citizen rights. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Governments of the World has clearly been a group effort. The vision and contents of the work were shaped extensively by the members of the editorial board: Martin Edelman of the University at Albany, Stacia Haynie of Louisiana State University, and Donald Jackson and Mary Volcansek, both of Texas Christian University. The set’s coverage and contents were initially developed in consultation with David O’Brien of the University of Virginia, Carl Baar of Brock and York Universities, and board members Edelman, Jackson, and Volcansek. When other commitments made it impossible for Professors O’Brien and Baar to continue their involvement, Professor Haynie and I came on board. Governments of the World would have remained only a vision and a list of potential contents without the leadership and vital contributions of the staff at Thomson Gale. Hélène Potter, director of New Product Development, provided the stimulus and enthusiasm to get us going. Jaime Noce, our editor, was unfailingly supportive and resourceful; her gentle nudges kept us on schedule. Other members of the editorial and production staff worked behind the scenes to do everything necessary to turn rough drafts of individual articles into the polished and well-illustrated final product. The excellent work of all these people would have been directed toward other projects but for the expertise and eloquence of the more than 200 authors of the individual articles. I learned from reading and editing their contributions more than I ever could have on my own. I frequently experienced a sense of real excitement and a desire to know more as I encountered new knowledge about the world’s nations and their characteristics, the state of their citizens’ rights and responsibilities, the dimensions of important concepts that help us understand the background and operations of those nations, and the lives and contributions of important individuals whose impacts on citizen rights and responsibilities, both positive and negative, have been substantial. All of us involved in bringing you Governments of the World—the associate editors, the editorial and production staff, the publishers, and, of course, the authors of the articles—hope you find it as informative and exciting as we have. C. Neal Tate Editor in Chief

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G O V E R N M E N T S

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INTRODUCTION ■ ■ ■

Two of the more interesting items in my library are a world atlas published in the 1930s and the set of encyclopedias my parents bought for their growing family in the early 1950s. The former provides a picture of the world as it existed when my parents were in their adolescent years, before adulthood confronted my nineteen-year-old father in the form of a draft notice that sent him to World War II—ultimately, to a place he likely had never heard of before, the island of Guam. The latter depicts the world as it existed at the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its communist allies in China and Eastern Europe. It captures the beginning of the end of European colonialism in Asia, but predates its wholesale demise in the 1960s that led to the creation of dozens of new nations in Africa and elsewhere. THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF THE WORLD

In 1930, there were sixty-eight independent nation states in the world— twenty more than there were 100 years earlier. Certainly nations came and went during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but, on the average, people who wanted to keep up with the world across these ten decades had to learn about a new nation every five years. The pace of change in the map of the world was slow. Despite the trauma and rapid change of World War II, territorially the map of the world looked only slightly different in 1950 than it had in 1930. The War brought small changes in some European borders, changes in colonial rulers for a small number of territories, and, soon, independence from colonial control for several significant Asian nations: India, Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Politically, there were significant effects of the war, as the Soviet Union imposed communist regimes on territories that it had conquered from the Germans and Japanese: the eastern portion of Germany, the nations of Eastern Europe, and the northern half of Korea. Twenty years later, in 1970, as my own family was growing, the map of the world’s independent nations had changed more significantly than it had in the G O V E R N M E N T S

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entire previous century, as the continent of Africa was transformed from colonial possessions to independent nations and numerous other dependencies became states. My young daughter—or anyone else who wanted to be informed about the world—lived in an era in which she had to keep up with 131 independent nations, fifty-two more than had existed two decades earlier. The decade of the 1970s saw continued, though much slower, growth in the complexity of the world, as thirteen newly independent nations made their appearance on the world scene, and the decade of the 1980s saw very little change: the world gained only three newly independent nations from 1981 through 1990, reaching a total of 144. By 1993, however, shortly after my daughter reached adulthood, the world had once again changed rapidly. The number of independent states increased by seventeen, to a total of 161. More important, this sizable single decade increase was produced almost entirely by the breakup of the group of communist nations in Eastern Europe dominated by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the Soviet Union) after World War II and during the Cold War, as well as the disintegration of the world’s second super power, the Soviet Union itself. Determining the number of independent nations in existence at any one time can be problematic. For example, the United States in 2005 recognized 192 independent states; some countries recognized Taiwan as the 193rd nation. Generally, data from the Polity IV project at the University of Maryland include nations that were independent members of the international system during a given year and that had a population of at least 500,000. According to the Polity IV criteria, there were 161 independent nations in 2003, but the United Nations had 191 independent member states, since it includes some very small nations, and the Vatican is not a member. For more information about sources of data on the world’s nations, see the article on government data sets. The consequence of all this change is that citizens of the world in the twentyfirst century face a political reality that is by far the most complex in history. People whose formal education was completed some time ago find that much of what they had learned is now obsolete and that important world events often occur in places they never knew existed. People who are still completing their education, high school and college students, for example, face the same complex task of learning about a much more complicated world, albeit one in which they have grown up. Given that they have grown up in this more complicated world, people may lack understanding of the historical and political events and people responsible for making the world what it is. Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities has been created to provide the valuable reference information both groups need.

THE GROWTH OF THE DEMAND FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Governments of the World is designed to do more than help its readers cope with a more complicated world of independent nation states. As its subtitle indicates, it also provides guidance to an array of citizen rights and responsibilities. This focus is the result of another major change that has affected the world and its governments in recent decades: a sharply increased emphasis on the importance of human rights and an insistence that the world’s now large array of independent nation states respect and protect rights. The acceptance of the proposition that human beings are entitled to exercise certain rights and liberties and to have them protected from abuse is not new. It has grown for centuries. The nineteenth century was important as the

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era in which almost all the world’s nations came to reject the proposition that one human being should be able to own and control the destiny of another through the institution of slavery. It also saw • the beginning of the acceptance of the previously radical proposition that government should be democratic, that the people—the mass of ordinary human beings, mostly men—should have the right to select and control their governments even if they were not wealthy, and • the slow growth of acceptance by national governments of most of the basic rights and liberties expressed succinctly at the end of the eighteenth century in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. The twentieth century witnessed the continued expansion of national acceptance of the right of the people to select and control their governments. Where that right was accepted, the right to vote and participate in government was eventually extended to women on what was by mid-century a nearly universal basis. The rights and freedoms enumerated in the U.S. Bill of Rights also came into wider acceptance. Importantly, they were supplemented by a growing, though not universal, belief that citizens had a right to expect and governments a duty to provide fundamental social, educational, and economic services. But the twentieth century was not a completely positive era for the expansion and protection of human rights. It also was the occasion for perhaps the most horrific and systematic attacks on human rights in history through the mechanisms of the brutal Nazi and Soviet dictatorships of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the decades before and during World War II. Wholesale eradication and imprisonment of political opponents and class enemies under Stalin gave new and terrible meanings to the word “purge,” while Hitler’s ruthless extermination of population groups singled out as national or class enemies defined the term, “Holocaust.” Largely as a reaction to the atrocities accompanying World War II, much of the international community began efforts to reestablish democracy and to establish respect for human rights on a sounder and more universally accepted basis. Throughout the last half of the century and continuing with force into the twenty-first century, these and subsequent efforts have put citizen rights and responsibilities on the front burner for almost all of the world’s governments. This does not mean, unfortunately, that citizen rights are secure everywhere—far from it, as many of the country descriptions in Governments of the World document. While worldwide democracy did indeed grow after the end of World War II, it did not continue to expand, but, rather, declined through the late 1980s, as the newly independent nations that came into being in that period had difficulty establishing and maintaining democratic governments and the communist regimes remained dictatorial. In fact, the human rights catastrophes of the first half of the twentieth century have not remained isolated instances, as recent accounts of genocide in such diverse locales as Bosnia, Rwanda, and Sudan and of assassination squads in various Latin American countries confirm. Individual country articles in Governments of the World assess with impartiality the state of rights and responsibilities in ways that are appropriate for the countries being discussed. These volumes also contain numerous other articles that explain for readers the meaning and development of concepts that are crucial to understanding human rights and their condition around the world, descriptions of important organizations, and brief biographies of selected individuals who have had major impacts, either positive or negative, on the development of human rights.

G O V E R N M E N T S

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ENVOI

This introduction has contended that we live in a world of possibly unprecedented political and governmental change. Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities has been created to help students and citizens understand and cope with that change. Its editors would be happy if it also assisted people in making important political choices related to their own ability to participate in civic life. A resource like this can only be the beginning of the inquiry and reflection in which readers will engage as they pursue a civic-minded path. For one thing, given that we live in a period of very rapid change, it is impossible for any printed resource to anticipate and explain all the changes that are occurring constantly worldwide. Imagine, for example, the dismay that would have been felt by anyone completing a reference resource on the world in late 1988. Almost certainly, such an author or editor would not have anticipated the incredible change that was about to burst upon the world in the next three years as the communist governments disintegrated in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union fell apart. If you encounter similarly unprecedented events as you seek further knowledge of our political world, remember that the only true constant is change. C. Neal Tate, General Editor Vanderbilt University

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THEMATIC OUTLINE OF TOPICS ■ ■ ■

Biographies

European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Magna Carta Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Aquino, Corazon Aung San Suu Kyi Biko, Stephen Dalai Lama Gandhi, Mahatma Gorbachev, Mikhail Havel, Vaclav Hitler, Adolf Kelsen, Hans King Jr., Martin Luther Mandela, Nelson Roosevelt, Eleanor Stalin, Joseph Yeltsin, Boris

This outline provides a general overview of the conceptual structure of Governments of the World. The outline is organized under eight categories, with entries listed alphabetically within each category. Because the section headings are not mutually exclusive, certain entries are listed in more than one section.

Country and Region Profiles

Conventions and Documents American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights Bill of Rights Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium

G O V E R N M E N T S

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T h e m a t i c O u t l i n e o f To p i c s

Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Caribbean Region Central African Republic Chad Chile China (PRC) Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire) Congo, Republic of the Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia European Microstates Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany

Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong and Macau Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic) Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Mongolia Morocco

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Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands, The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Northern Ireland Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan

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Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican Venezuela Vietnam West Bank Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Totalitarianism Transitional Political Systems

History American Civil Liberties Union Campaign Finance Censorship Ethnic Cleansing Gender Discrimination Genocide Government Data Sets Immigration and Immigrants Political Corruption Racism Refugees Stateless People

International and Supranational Entities

Forms of Government Apartheid Bicameral Parliamentary Systems Colonies and Colonialism Confederations Constitutional Monarchy Constitutions and Constitutionalism Democracy Dictatorship Elections Federalism Liberal Democracy Majoritarian Party Systems Nationalist Movements Oligarchy Parliamentary Systems Political Parties Political Party Systems Popular Sovereignty Presidential Systems Primaries Representation Republic

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights Amnesty International Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms European Court of Human Rights European Court of Justice European Parliament European Union Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights International Court of Justice International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

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International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights International Criminal Court Non-governmental Organizations Peacekeeping Forces United Nations United Nations Commission on Human Rights

Law and the Courts Civil Law Common Law Constitutional Courts Crimes Against Humanity Due Process of Law Equal Protection of the Law Equality Before the Law European Court of Human Rights European Court of Justice Halakhah Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights International Court of Justice International Criminal Court International Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law Judicial Independence Judicial Review Judicial Selection Shari’a Universal Criminal Jurisdiction War Crimes

Rights, Responsibilities, and Freedoms American Civil Liberties Union Bill of Rights Children’s Rights Citizenship Civil Liberties in Emergencies Civil Rights Movement in the United States Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

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Freedom of Assembly and Association Freedom of Expression Freedom of Information Freedom of the Press Freedom of Religion and the State Freedom of Religion, Foundations Human Rights

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Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Interest Groups Juries Magna Carta Naturalization Ombudsmen Political Protest Referendums and Plebiscites

G O V E R N M E N T S

O F

Reproductive Rights Right to Privacy Student Rights Suffrage Universal Declaration of Human Rights Voting Rights Women’s Rights

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DIRECTORY OF CONTRIBUTORS ■ ■ ■

Vanderbilt University

Mounah Abdel Samad Ph.D. Candidate, Public Administration University at Albany, State University of New York

Common Law Constitutions and Constitutionalism

Klaus Armingeon Professor, Political Science University of Berne

Jordan Lebanon Oman United Arab Emirates Yemen

Switzerland

Janet Adamski Visiting Assistant Professor, Political Science Southwestern University Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights European Union Parliamentary Systems

Felix Ronkes Agerbeek Référendaire, Cabinet of Advocate General Poiares Maduro, Court of Justice of the European Communities Luxembourg European Court of Justice

Victor Asal Assistant Professor, Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York Ethnic Cleansing

Florence Attiogbe Independent Scholar Detroit, MI Togo

Godfrey Baldacchino Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology University of Prince Edward Island Malta

Felipe Agüero Associate Professor, International Studies University of Miami

Asoka Bandarage Professor, Government Georgetown University Sri Lanka

Chile

Klint Alexander Adjunct Professor, Political Science

Sherrie L. Baver Associate Professor, Political Science

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Sherrie L. Baver (continued) City College and The Graduate Center, the City University of New York Dominican Republic

Joseph B. Board Professor Emeritus, Government Union College Sweden

Jeanette Bolenga Fellow, Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance University of the South Pacific

Al Bavon Associate Professor, Public Administration University of North Texas

Vanuatu

Ghana

Joan E. Bertin Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship New York, NY

John J. Brandon Director, International Relations, The Asia Foundation Washington, DC Myanmar (Burma)

Censorship

Morris Bidjerano Lecturer, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy University at Albany, State University of New York

Peter Breiner Associate Professor, Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York Democracy Oligarchy Republic

Poland

George E. Bisharat Professor, Law University of California Hastings College of the Law

Bryan Brophy-Baermann Associate Professor, Political Science University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Gaza Strip Palestine West Bank

Campaign Finance Elections

John C. Blakeman Associate Professor, Political Science University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point Constitutional Courts Constitutional Monarchy Judicial Review United Kingdom

Julia Brotea Graduate Student, Political Science University of Calgary Political Protest

Georgia State University Haiti

Maya Chadda Professor, Political Science William Paterson University Nepal

Cheng Chen Assistant Professor, Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York China (PRC) Nationalist Movements

Ann Marie Clark Associate Professor, Political Science Purdue University Amnesty International

Andrew Coleman Lecturer, Business Law and Taxation Monash University International Court of Justice

Melissa Comenduley Research Assistant, Sociology University of Washington Estonia Latvia Lithuania

Linda Cornett Assistant Professor, Political Science University of North Carolina at Asheville Refugees

J. Blondel Professor Emeritus, Political and Social Sciences European University Institute Majoritarian Party Systems Political Party Systems

Julie M. Bunck Associate Professor, Political Science University of Louisville Cuba

Isa Camyar Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Louisiana State University Maldives

Isa Blumi Visiting Lecturer, History Trinity College

Henry F. Carey Associate Professor, Political Science

Kosovo

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Jennifer Corrin Care Executive Director, Comparative Law, Centre for Public International and Comparative Law University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law Fiji Solomon Islands

Emily Corwin Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Louisiana State University Interest Groups W O R L D

Directory of Contributors

Andrew Costello Independent Scholar Hicksville, NY

Afghanistan Iran Iraq

Apartheid Biko, Stephen Mandela, Nelson Racism South Africa

Susan Dicklitch Associate Professor, Government Franklin and Marshall College Uganda

Eric W. Cox Assistant Director, Leadership Center Texas Christian University International Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law United Nations Commission on Human Rights Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Scott A. Dittloff Assistant Professor, Political Science University of the Incarnate Word Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Michael Dodson Professor, Political Science Texas Christian University El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua

Jefferson Cumberbatch Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law University of the West Indies–Cave Hill

Ernest A. Dover Jr. Chair, Political Science Midwestern State University

Antigua and Barbuda

Lucy Dadayan Ph.D. Candidate, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy University at Albany, State University of New York Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Hungary

Swaziland

Maria Elisabetta de Franciscis Professor, Political Science Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Vatican

Hassan S Dibadj Ph.D. Candidate, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy University at Albany, State University of New York

Mark A. Drumbl Associate Professor, Law Washington and Lee University Graciela Ducatenzeiler Professor, Political Science Université de Montréal Argentina

Eric S. Einhorn Professor, Political Science University of Massachusetts, Amherst Denmark

Kisangani N. F. Emizet Associate Professor, Political Science Kansas State University Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire)

Shawn Flanigan Ph.D. Candidate, Public Administration and Policy University at Albany, State University of New York Albania Macedonia

Freedom of Religion and the State

Jon Fraenkel Senior Research Fellow, Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development & Governance University of the South Pacific Marshall Islands Vanuatu

John C. Dugas Assistant Professor, Political Science Kalamazoo College Colombia

Gerrit Franssen Professor, Centre for Sociology of Law University of Antwerp Belgium

Martin Edelman Professor Emeritus, Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York Bill of Rights Citizenship Halakhah Israel Naturalization

G O V E R N M E N T S

Mexico

Ronald Flowers Professor Emeritus, Religion Texas Christian University

Mozambique Tunisia Zambia

Rwanda

John Daniel Research Director, Human Sciences Research Council Durban, South Africa

Emily Edmonds-Poli Assistant Professor, Political Science University of San Diego

O F

Bogdan Alex Fratiloiu Independent Scholar Bucharest, Romania Czech Republic Romania Slovakia

Barbara A. Frey Director, Human Rights Program T H E

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Directory of Contributors

Barbara A. Frey (continued) University of Minnesota

University of Nijmegen

James J. Gobert Professor, Law University of Essex

Stateless People

Douglas Friedman Associate Professor, Political Science College of Charleston Brazil

Netherlands, The

Juries

Kenneth Good Professor, Political Science University of Botswana Botswana

Brian Galligan Chair, Political Science University of Melbourne

Timothy Gordinier Policy Director, Institute for Humanist Studies Albany, NY

Australia

Andrew Geddis Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law University of Otago New Zealand

Yana N. Georgieva Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Bulgaria

Freedom of Religion, Foundations

Dennis R. Gordon Professor, Political Science Santa Clara University Caribbean Region

Ross Grainger Lecturer, Faculty of Law University of Wollongong

Trinidad and Tabago

Steven Gibens Professor, Centre for Sociology of Law University of Antwerp Belgium

Cecilia A. Green Assistant Professor, Sociology University of Pittsburgh Dominica

Immigration and Immigrants Refugees

Joanne Connor Green Associate Professor, Political Science Texas Christian University Reproductive Rights Roosevelt, Eleanor

Tom Ginsburg Professor, Law University of Illinois

Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith Dean, Honors College Florida International University

Mongolia

Rachel M. Gisselquist Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology Peacekeeping Forces

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Burkina Faso

Johann J. Hagen Professor, Basic Sciences Universität Salzburg Austria

Kare Hagen Associate Professor, Public Governance Norwegian School of Management Linn A. Hammergren Senior Public Sector Management Specialist, The World Bank Washington, DC

Germany Hitler, Adolf

Robert Harmsen Senior Lecturer, European Studies Queen’s University, Belfast European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms European Court of Human Rights

Civil Liberties in Emergencies

Leny E. de Groot-van Leeuwen Associate Professor, Faculty of Law O F

M. Donald Hancock Professor, Political Science Vanderbilt University

Dirk Haubrich Research Officer, Politics and International Relations University of Oxford

Colonies and Colonialism Guyana

G O V E R N M E N T S

Sten Hagberg Associate Professor, Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology Uppsala University

Peru

Gregory Green Curator, Southeast Asia Collection Northern Illinois University Libraries Laos

Mark Gibney Professor, Political Science University of North Carolina at Asheville

Iceland

Norway

Hong Kong and Macau

Hamid Ghany Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences University of the West Indies–St. Augustine

Helgi Gunnlaugsson Professor, Sociology University of Iceland

T H E

Eric Heinze Reader in Legal Theory, Faculty of Laws W O R L D

Directory of Contributors

University of London, Queen Mary Children’s Rights

Metin Heper Dean, School of Economics, Administrative, and Social Sciences Bilkent University Turkey

Andrew Herod Professor, Geography University of Georgia

Crimes Against Humanity Equal Protection of the Law Equality Before the Law International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Right to Privacy Student Rights Universal Criminal Jurisdiction

Sarita D. Jackson Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Brown University

Tonga

Panama

Gerti Hesseling Director, African Studies Centre Leiden, The Netherlands

Rounaq Jahan Senior Research Scholar, Southern Asian Institute Columbia University

Senegal

Larry B. Hill Professor, Political Science University of Oklahoma Ombudsmen

Abdourahmane Idrissa Ph.D. Candidate, Center for African Studies University of Florida Niger

Guy-Erik Isaksson Associate Professor, Political Science Åbo Akademi University Bicameral Parliamentary Systems

Deborah Isser Rule of Law Program, United States Institute of Peace Washington, DC Bosnia and Herzegovina

Donald W. Jackson Professor, Political Science Texas Christian University Bahamas Barbados Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW )

Bahrain Brunei Kuwait Qatar Saudi Arabia

George Klay Kieh Jr. Associate Professor and Chair, Political Science Morehouse College Liberia

John Kincaid Director, Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government Lafayette College Confederations Federalism

Bangladesh

Richard Janikowski Associate Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice University of Memphis Genocide

Kris Kobach Professor, School of Law University of Missouri–Kansas City Referendums and Plebiscites

Gregory Johnston Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Louisiana State University Angola Comoros Madagascar

Paul J. Kubicek Associate Professor, Political Science Oakland University Finland

Lisa A. Joyner Contract Management Specialist Albany, NY Thailand

Azzedine Layachi Associate Professor, Government and Politics St. John’s University Algeria

Jimmy D. Kandeh Associate Professor, Political Science University of Richmond Sierra Leone

Taiwan

Michael Keren Professor, Political Science University of Calgary Political Protest O F

Stephen Levine Professor, Political Science Victoria University of Wellington Tuvalu

David L. Kenley Associate Professor, History Marshall University

G O V E R N M E N T S

Amal I. Khoury Ph.D. Candidate, School of International Service American University

T H E

W O R L D

David Lewis Reader in Social Policy London School of Economics and Political Science Non-governmental Organizations

Timothy C. Lim Assistant Professor, Political Science

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Directory of Contributors

Timothy C. Lim (continued) California State University, Los Angeles

Bordeaux, France Mauritania

Diane K. Mauzy Professor, Political Science University of British Columbia

Korea, North Korea, South

Robert B. Lloyd Professor, International Relations Pepperdine University

Malaysia Singapore

Shelley A. McConnell Senior Associate Director, Americas Program The Carter Center, Washington, DC

Zimbabwe

Richard A. Lobban Jr. Professor, Anthropology Rhode Island College Sudan

Ecuador

Michelle S. Lyon Adjunct Professor, Law Washington & Lee University Rwanda

Kathryne McDorman Associate Professor, History Texas Christian University Magna Carta

Pedro Magalhães Investigator, Instituto de Ciências Sociais Universidade de Lisboa

Dictatorship Popular Sovereignty

Kate Malleson Senior Lecturer in Law London School of Economics and Political Science Judicial Selection

Rodelio Cruz Manacsa Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Vanderbilt University Aquino, Corazon Philippines

Christopher P. Manfredi Professor and Chair, Political Science McGill University Canada

Marianne Marty Ph.D. Candidate, Centre d’Etude d’Afrique Noire

Albert P. Melone Professor, Political Science Southern Illinois University, Carbondale Bulgaria

Agustín José Menéndez Professor, Basic Public Rights University of Leon, Spain Peter J. Messitte U.S. District Court Judge for Maryland Baltimore, MD

Carlo Mongardini Professor, Political Science University La Sapienza, Rome Italy

Derwin Munroe Lecturer, Political Science University of Michigan–Flint British Virgin Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis

Stephen N. Ndegwa Associate Professor, Program of African Studies Northwestern University Léonce Ndikumana Associate Professor, Economics University of Massachusetts, Amherst Burundi

Civil Law

Arnauld Miguet Lecturer in European Politics London School of Economics and Political Science France

Mark C. Miller Professor and Chair, Government and International Relations Clark University

G O V E R N M E N T S

Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo, Republic of the Equatorial Guinea

Kenya

Spain

Luxembourg

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H. Mbella Mokeba Instructor, Political Science Louisiana State University

Political Corruption

Jamaica

Alvin Magid Professor Emeritus, Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York

Representation

Gabriella R. Montinola Associate Professor, Political Science University of California, Davis

Brian W. Meeks Professor, Government University of the West Indies–Mona

Portugal

Ted H. Miller Assistant Professor, Political Science University of Alabama

Brian Nelson Associate Professor, Political Science Florida International University Totalitarianism

David M. O’Brien Professor, Government and Foreign Affairs University of Virginia Judicial Independence

O F

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Directory of Contributors

Rory O’Connell Lecturer, Human Rights Centre Queen’s University of Belfast School of Law Northern Ireland

Miguel Poiares Maduro Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Communities Luxembourg European Court of Justice

Ayo Ogundele Assistant Professor, Political Science Texas A&M University–Commerce Benin Gambia, The Nigeria

Ralph R. Premdas Professor, Behavioural Sciences University of the West Indies–St. Augustine Saint Lucia

Elisabeth Prügl Associate Professor, International Relations Florida International University

Henry Okole Lecturer, Political Science University of Papua New Guinea

Gender Discrimination Women’s Rights

Papua New Guinea

John V. Orth Professor, School of Law University of North Carolina Due Process of Law

Sunita A. Parikh Associate Professor, Political Science Washington University in St. Louis Pakistan

Gianfranco Pasquino Professor, Political Science University of Bologna Transitional Political Systems

Pamela Paxton Associate Professor, Sociology The Ohio State University Suffrage

Tony Pederson Chair, Journalism Southern Methodist University Freedom of Information

Glenn Petersen Professor, Anthropology and International Affairs Bernard Baruch College, City University of New York Micronesia, Federated States of

Marc-Georges Pufong Associate Professor, Political Science Valdosta State University Samoa Seychelles

Nicol Rae Professor and Chair, Political Science Florida International University Primaries

Tapio Raunio Professor, Political Science University of Tampere European Parliament

Alison Dundes Renteln Professor, Political Science and Anthropology University of Southern California Human Rights

Cara Richards Graduate Student University at Albany, State University of New York Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic) Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

G O V E R N M E N T S

O F

T H E

W O R L D

Dylan Scott Rickards Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Louisiana State University Voting Rights

James W. Riddlesperger Jr. Professor and Chair, Political Science Texas Christian University Civil Rights Movement in the United States King Jr., Martin Luther United States

Ann E. Robertson National Council for Eurasian and East European Research Washington, DC Gorbachev, Mikhail Russia Stalin, Joseph Yeltsin, Boris

Robert S. Robins Professor Emeritus, Political Science Tulane University Gandhi, Mahatma India

Sinisˇa Rodin Professor, Faculty of Law University of Zagreb Croatia Serbia and Montenegro Slovenia

Andrea Rogers Independent Scholar Clifton Park, NY Belarus Moldova Ukraine

Wannes Rombouts Associate Professor, Faculty of Law University of Nijmegen Netherlands, The

Jonathan Rosenberg Associate Professor, Political Science University of Alaska–Fairbanks Grenada

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Directory of Contributors

Susan Dente Ross Associate Professor, Journalism Washington State University Freedom of Assembly and Association

Gerry Simpson Reader in Law London School of Economics and Political Science War Crimes

Emile Sahliyeh Associate Professor, Political Science University of North Texas Shari’a Egypt

Paul Khalil Saucier Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology and Anthropology Northeastern University Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau

Holly Sims Associate Professor, Public Administration and Policy University at Albany, State University of New York Aung San Suu Kyi Dalai Lama

Anthony L. Smith Senior Research Fellow, AsiaPacific Center for Security Studies Honolulu, HI East Timor

Christopher Saunders Professor, Historical Studies University of Cape Town Namibia

Michael P. Scharf Professor and Director, Frederick K. Cox International Law Center Case Western Reserve University School of Law International Criminal Court

Zeric Kay Smith Management Systems International Washington, DC

Belize

Gerhard Seibert Researcher, Centro de Estudos Africanos e Asiáticos (CEAA) Instituto de Investigação Cientifica Tropical São Tomé and Príncipe

Mali

Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos Assistant Professor, Political Science University of Athens Roger Southall Distinguished Research Fellow, Human Sciences Research Council Pretoria, South Africa Lesotho

Henry F. Srebrnik Professor, Political Studies University of Prince Edward Island Mauritius

Dinah Shelton Professor, Law George Washington University Law School American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights

xxx

Ronald Bruce St John Independent Scholar Dunlap, IL

Paige Johnson Tan Assistant Professor, Political Science

O F

C. Neal Tate Professor and Chair, Political Science Vanderbilt University Bhutan Government Data Sets Guinea Kiribati Nauru Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Somalia Suriname Tanzania

Moses Kangmieve Tesi Professor, Political Science Middle Tennessee State University Andreas Theophanous Director General, Research and Development Center Intercollege Cyprus

Erica E. Townsend-Bell Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Washington University in St. Louis Uruguay

Brian Turner Associate Professor and Chair, Political Science Randolph-Macon College Paraguay

Kheang Un Visiting Assistant Professor, Political Science Northern Illinois University Cambodia

Libya Syria Vietnam

G O V E R N M E N T S

Indonesia

Côte d’Ivoire

Greece

Birgit Schmook ECOSUR Chetumal, Mexico

University of North Carolina Wilmington

T H E

Mark Ungar Associate Professor, Political Science Brooklyn College, City University of New York Venezuela

W O R L D

Directory of Contributors

Koen Van Aeken Director, Centre for Sociology of Law University of Antwerp Belgium

American Civil Liberties Union

Ingrid van Biezen Senior Lecturer, Political Science and International Studies University of Birmingham Political Parties

Donna Lee Van Cott Assistant Professor, Political Science Tulane University Bolivia

Jerold Waltman Professor, Political Science Baylor University Freedom of Expression Freedom of the Press

Bradley C. S. Watson Chair, American and Western Political Thought Saint Vincent College Liberal Democracy

Liam Weeks Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Trinity College, University of Dublin

Mary L. Volcansek Dean, AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences Texas Christian University

Ireland

European Microstates Havel, Vaclav Kelsen, Hans Presidential Systems

Peter VonDoepp Assistant Professor, Political Science University of Vermont Malawi

Samuel Walker Professor, Criminal Justice University of Nebraska at Omaha

Helena Whall Project Officer, Indigenous Rights in the Commonwealth Project Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Nigel D. White Professor, International Organisations

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University of Nottingham School of Law United Nations

Michael J. Willis Fellow, Middle East Studies St. Antony’s College, Oxford University Morocco

Bruce M. Wilson Associate Professor, Political Science University of Central Florida Costa Rica

Matthew J. Wilson Associate Dean and Director, School of Law Temple University Japan Japan

Mulatu Wubneh Professor and Chair, Planning East Carolina University Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia

Ralph A. Young Senior Lecturer, Government and International Politics University of Manchester Gabon

xxxi

A ■ ■ ■

Afghanistan

■ ■ ■

Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country located in Central Asia, north and west of Pakistan and east of Iran. Afghanistan has an area of 647,500 square kilometers (250,000 square miles), making it slightly smaller than the state of Texas. The population of Afghanistan is estimated to be between 24 and 29 million. Afghanistan is a heterogeneous nation in which four major ethnic groups coexist: the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks. Numerous other minor ethnic groups (including the Nuristanis, Baluchis, and Turkmens) also call Afghanistan their home. Although the majority of Afghanis (99%) belong to the Islamic faith, there are also small pockets of Sikhs and Hindus. The official languages of the country are Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian).

landlocked: sharing no border with a body of water

heterogeneous: complex; consisting of parts or components that are different from one another

Afghanistan has a rich cultural heritage spanning more than five thousand years. Because most Afghans live outside the cities, their mode of living is best described as that of a peasant tribal society. Kinship is the basis of social life and determines the patriarchal character of the community. Religion plays a very important role in Afghanis’ lives. HISTORY

Sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan became a strategic position along the ancient Silk Road; consequently, it has long been fought over despite its rugged and forbidding terrain. Afghanistan was at the center of the so-called “Great Game” in the nineteenth century, when czarist Russia and the British Empire in India vied for influence. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century and after three major wars, the British Empire assumed partial control of most parts of Afghanistan. In 1919 the country gained full independence and in 1923 a monarchy was reestablished. The modernization of Afghanistan was initiated in the same year. G O V E R N M E N T S

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modernization: the act of incorporating new ideas or technology

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Afghanistan

KYRGYZSTAN

AFGHANISTAN 50

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100

CHINA

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T A J I K I S T A N

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150 Kilometers

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P A K I S T A N

Afghanistan

Quetta

Gowd-e Zereh

Chagai

Khojak Pass

Hills

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

guerrilla: a soldier engaged in nontraditional methods of warfare, often separate from any structured military group

Afghanistan’s history has been characterized by war, domestic conflicts, and civil unrest. In the years after World War II (1939–1945) and during the Cold War, the Soviet Union increased its influence in Afghanistan. In 1969 the Communist Party became a force within the government in the country’s second national elections. A few years later, in 1973, it played a significant role in a military coup that led to the abolishment of the monarchy. Several bloody uprisings followed, including the 1978 coup that transformed Afghanistan into a pro-communist regime. The communists’ illegitimate seizure of power, which led to the overthrow of a popular king, Mohammad Zahir Shah ( b. 1914), did not appeal to Afghanis. Furthermore, the radical policies of the pro-communist regime, which often stood in opposition to the traditions and beliefs of the majority, provoked fierce discontent among the public. Shaken by peasant revolts, urban upheavals, and bloody internal feuds, the regime was on the verge of collapse when in December 1979 the Soviets decided to intervene and invaded the country. In 1978 the Afghan guerrilla movement (known as mujahideen) was born. Afghan guerrillas initially aimed to oust Soviet forces, but gradually they became more ideologically radical and sought to establish an Islamic state.

C I V I L WA R

The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan quickly led to a major confrontation that drew in the United States as well as Afghanistan’s neighbors, and it turned the country into a key Cold War battleground. Afghan guerrillas, supplied and trained by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others, embarked on a civil war with the government and Soviet forces. This war lasted ten years and claimed the lives of thousands of Afghanis and more than forty thousand Soviet

2

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soldiers. Many suggest that the war in Afghanistan was a major factor in the demise of the former Soviet Union. In 1989 the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, but Afghan guerrillas continued their war against the government, and in 1992 they finally seized the capital of Kabul. However, clashes between different groups of guerrillas, now gathered around different warlords, ushered in a new era of civil war and destruction throughout Afghanistan. In 1994 the Taliban emerged as a new radical force. With the military support of Pakistan and financial support of Saudi Arabia, and with tacit approval from the United States, the Taliban assumed control of most parts of Afghanistan by 1998. The Taliban—drawn from the Pashtun majority—was opposed by an alliance of factions hailing mainly from Afghanistan’s minority communities based in the north. The emergence of the Taliban, originally a group of Islamic scholars, brought at least a measure of stability after nearly two decades of conflict. Numerous ordinary Afghanis, weary of the prevailing lawlessness in many parts of the country, were often delighted by the Taliban’s success in eliminating corruption, restoring peace, and allowing commerce to flourish again. The Taliban’s refusal to deal with the existing warlords whose rivalries had caused so much killing and destruction also earned the group respect from Afghanis.

■ ■ ■ warlord: a leader, usually over a small region, who governs by military force

factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government

TA L I B A N R E G I M E

Although the Taliban restored some stability after nearly two decades of conflict, the group’s tough and extreme interpretation of Islamic law soon attracted widespread discontent and global criticism. Trying to impose its radical view, the Taliban banned television, music, and the cinema. The regime’s attempts to eradicate crime were reinforced by harsh actions, including public executions and amputations. Women especially suffered under the Taliban, which banned their education and imposed severe restrictions on their lives. Under the Taliban regime, women had to be fully veiled and were no longer allowed to work, venture out alone, or even to wear white socks. Men were forced to grow beards. Buzkashi, the Afghan national sport, was outlawed. Such issues, along with restrictions on women’s access to health care, caused resentment among ordinary Afghanis. In addition, the Taliban committed ethnic cleansing and widespread atrocities against some ethnic and religious minority groups, particularly the Hazaras and Shi’as. Most notoriously, the regime massacred the populations of Bamian and Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998. The group also destroyed the country’s ancient landmark sculptures of the Buddha, along with other precious historic artifacts. The radical actions of the Taliban regime, especially its abuse of basic human rights and destruction of the world-recognized cultural heritage of Afghanistan, quickly brought the group into conflict with the international community. Although the regime controlled about 90 percent of Afghanistan until late 2001, the Taliban was recognized as the country’s legitimate government by only three countries: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, in 1999 and 2000 the United Nations (UN) Security Council sanctioned the Taliban for the regime’s continuing support of terrorism. The sanctions were intended to force Afghanistan to surrender the Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, whom the United States had accused of leading the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 250 people. Under the Taliban, Afghanistan became a base for militant groups that were plotting to attack neighboring countries, the Arab countries, and the Western G O V E R N M E N T S

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eradicate: to destroy or eliminate a population of items, people, or other living things

ethnic cleansing: the systematic murder of an entire ethnic group

sanction: economic, political, or military reprisals, or, to ratify

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Afghanistan

countries. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Taliban came into direct confrontation with the United States over bin Laden, who was by then also suspected of having masterminded those events. After the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden, the United States initiated the aerial bombing of Afghanistan in October 2001, paving the way for opposition groups to drive the regime from power.

N E W A F G H A N I S TA N

■ ■ ■ mandate: to command, order, or require; or, a command, order, or requirement

republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

In late 2001 major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups agreed on a plan for a new government structure. Hamid Karzai (b. 1957) was inaugurated as chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on December 22, 2001. The AIA held a nationwide Loya Jirga (Traditional Grand Assembly) in June 2002, and Karzai was elected president of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA). The Transitional Authority received an eighteen-month mandate to hold a nationwide Loya Jirga to adopt a constitution and a twenty-four-month mandate to hold nationwide elections. In early 2004 the Loya Jirga adopted a new constitution. The document created a powerful presidency and defined Afghanistan as an Islamic republic. The structure of the constitution outlined a presidential system, mixed with some elements of the parliamentary system while also incorporating some traditional institutions such as the Loya Jirga. The president serves as the head of state. The national assembly consists of the House of People and the House of Elders. The constitution considers the judiciary an independent branch of government, with the Supreme Court functioning as the highest judicial body. The constitution contains a chapter on fundamental rights that guarantees political freedom and equal rights for men and women. In October of 2004, the first presidential election took place rather peacefully, and Hamid Karzai won the majority of votes to become Afghanistan’s first president.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE

Building social and political institutions and public bureaucracies is usually a lengthy process. In 2004, therefore, the situation in Afghanistan was very different from what the constitution had envisaged. Political coalitions had formed along ethnic lines. More importantly, many active political organizations were simply remnants of former guerrilla groups, and on many occasions they still adhered to their former militant mentality. Infighting between local commanders over power and territory had become a feature of the post-Taliban period. By 2004, the authorities in Kabul had not yet been able to exert control beyond the capital city. Even though local commanders and warlords officially were intended to be part of the government, the central government had minimal influence over them, especially in the remote areas of the south and east. The resurgence of the Taliban as a fighting force had worsened the security situation in the east and southeast. In addition to occasionally violent political confrontations and ongoing military action to root out remaining terrorists and Taliban elements, the country continued to suffer from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines. Soviet forces had destroyed at least half of all villages and warlords had reduced large sections of the major cities to rubble. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, up to two

envisage: to hold a picture of something in one’s mind coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

resurgence: a return to action from a diminished state

infrastructure: the base on which a system or organization is built

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ON OCTOBER 9, 2004 CITIZENS IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN’S WOMEN VOTED IN THE COUNTRY’S FIRST DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

After the Taliban was removed from power in 2001, a transitional government worked to implement democracy, resulting in the 2004 presidential elections. (SOURCE: © DESMOND BOYLAN/REUTERS/CORBIS)

million people were killed and six to eight million were driven out of the country. Since the beginning of the civil war, one-third of the population had fled their homes to neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan. By some estimates, almost five million people escaped to Pakistan and more than two million to Iran. Many of the refugees still live in neighboring countries. Fifty percent of the population was directly harmed by war through death, injury, or displacement. Years of war and conflict have destroyed public bureaucracies, social and political institutions, and the army. The education system and other modernizing sectors of Afghanistan have yet to be rebuilt. Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure are in ruins. The loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport caused a substantial drop in the gross domestic product (GDP) over the last twenty years of the twentieth century. The country also has been besieged by natural calamities such as earthquakes and drought. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Afghanistan

■ ■ ■ subsistence farming: farming which does not turn a profit, providing only enough food for the farmers themselves

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MOHAMMAD ZAHIR SHAH (B. 1914) The last king of Afghanistan’s Durani dynasty, Mohammad Zahir Shah was born in Kabul. After his father’s assassination in 1933, Zahir Shah ascended to the throne, but actual control of the country was in the hands of his two uncles. In 1953, his cousin Mohammed Daoud became prime minister. By the early 1960s elevating tension with neighboring Pakistan over the rights of the Pashtun ethnic group, the largest in Afghanistan, caused Zahir Shah to dismiss Daoud and appoint all new members of the council of ministers, excluding all members of the royal family. This restructuring paved the way for the democratic constitution in 1964, which provided for balance of power, a free press, and voting rights for women. While in Italy in 1973, Zahir Shah was removed from power in a coup d’etat led by Daoud. The former king remained in exile for nearly two decades, surviving an assassination attempt in 1991. After terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, he stepped back into the public eye to call for the Taliban’s removal from power in Afghanistan. In 2002, Afghanistan bestowed on Zahir Shah the honorary lifetime title of “Father of the Nation,” although neither he nor any of his five surviving children sought to regain power.

ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

6

In 2004 Afghanistan’s chief product was opium. Other main products of Afghanistan are fruits and nuts, carpets, and wool. Agriculture and animal husbandry, much of which consists of subsistence farming and pastoral nomadism, are by far the most important contributors to the gross national product (GNP), accounting for more than half its total value. Since much of the land is arid or semiarid, about half of the cultivated land is irrigated. Two of the biggest problems facing Afghanistan, opium cultivation and refugees, have implications that extend far beyond the country’s national borders. After the fall of the Taliban, the production of opium skyrocketed to become the major source of income for many Afghani farmers. In 2004 Afghanistan was the largest producer and exporter of opium, and the nation was believed to supply more than three-quarters of all opium consumed in the world. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium poppy production amounted to 3,600 tons in 2003. Recent trends indicate that poppy cultivation is spreading farther into remote areas. Approximately 1.7 million people, or 7 percent of the population, are directly involved in poppy production. In 2003 poppy cultivation generated a gross national income of around U.S.$1 billion, approximately $3,900 per opium-growing family. This compares to an average national wage of $2 per day. Since the government opposes the cultivation of opium, the drug trade is controlled by illegal cartels with international links, and it has thus become a source of political instability. Afghan farmers cultivate opium poppy for reasons of poverty and lack of viable alternative incomes, but national and international drug traffickers reap most of the profits. Some of the former guerrilla groups, who comprise factions within the transitional government, profit from drug trafficking. This conflict of interest hinders any governmental reform. According to the 2004 CIA World Factbook, almost half the population is under the age of fifteen. Life expectancy across the total population is fortyseven years, and more than 70 percent of Afghanis exist under the poverty line. The literacy rate across the entire population is 36 percent. The literacy rate is much higher among men (51%) than women (21%). The majority of the population lacks adequate food, clothing, housing, and medical care; other social problems include a scarcity of jobs, political uncertainties, and a general state of lawlessness. Years of conflict and military campaigns, severe drought, ethnic atrocities and human rights abuses have left millions of civilians, especially women and children, with a fragile grip on survival. In the early twenty-first century the Afghan government announced it would not able to effectively rebuild the country without the help of the international community. In 2002 President Karzai persuaded international donors to pledge $4 billion in financial aid, of which $1.7 billion was set aside to be spent that year. Despite these serious difficulties, Afghanistan in 2004 appeared to be on the long road to recovery. People were enjoying a more peaceful social life compared to the era of civil war and the Taliban regime. A few public and private newspapers and radio and TV stations had emerged. Pressure from the international community was forcing warlords to maintain a degree of peace. After the U.S. invasion, the neighboring countries arrested Afghani warlords or reduced their support of them. Also, the 2004 presidential election and the ratified constitution gave the central government legitimacy and made it harder for warlords to directly confront the government. Although some refugees have begun to return to the country, long-term stability and peace G O V E R N M E N T S

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A F G H A N I S TA N ’ S C I V I L W A R A N D T H E D E M I S E O F T H E S O V I E T U N I O N On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Kabul with the first of some 115,000 Soviet troops that would be sent to Afghanistan during the 1980s. President Hafizullah Amin, a Khalq, was assassinated and Babrak Karmal, a Parchami, was installed as president in his place. Much Soviet-supported violence—including bombings, executions, and torture—followed, strengthening rebel resistance and instigating a mass exodus of Afghanis. The resistance efforts were largely led by the Islamist mujahideen or jihad, joined by other groups of radical Muslims.

By the mid-1980s, it became clear that the Soviet Union had underestimated the cost of the war efforts, in terms of money, resources, time, and loss of life. In fact, the Afghan civil war was later described as the “Soviet Union’s Vietnam.” Under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1931), the USSR was unwilling to provide further support, and it promised in the 1988 Geneva Accords to remove its troops by the winter of 1989. The failure to establish a strong and stable communist government in Afghanistan contributed to the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

remain distant goals. Economic underdevelopment, ethnic divisions, and bitter memories of long-time rivalries continue to overshadow the lives of ordinary people. Disarmament of different factions and warlords remains clouded by uncertainty. It is not clear how efficiently Afghanistan will be able to move toward the establishment of a modern state and execution of the new constitution. As a result, the citizen rights’ situation in Afghanistan has remained poor. Freedom House rated Afghanistan in 2003 as “not free,” although its scores of 6 for political rights and civil rights and liberties represented an improvement over the consistent (and worst possible) scores of 7 that had been assigned to the Taliban regime. Many of Afghanistan’s human rights problems persist because the TISA under President Karzai’s leadership does not have de facto control of much of the country outside the capital city.

■ ■ ■ de facto: (Latin) actual; in effect but not officially declared

See also: Constitutions and Constitutionalism; Dictatorship; Shar’a. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Afghanistan.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html⬎. Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973. Freedom House. “Afghanistan.” Freedom in the World 2003: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. New York: Freedom House, 2003. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2003/countryratings/ afghanistan.htm>. Goodson, Larry P. Afghanistan’s Endless War, State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. Library of Congress, Research Division. Country Studies: Afghanistan. ⬍http:// countrystudies.us/afghanistan/⬎. Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Constitutional Commission. ⬍http://www. constitution-afg.com/index.html⬎. United Nations. World Statistics. ⬍http://unstats.un.org/unsd/⬎. U.S. Department of State. “Afghanistan.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices— 2003. ⬍http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27823.htm⬎.

Hassan S Dibadj

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Albania

Albania Albania is located on the Balkan Peninsula of Europe, and shares its borders with Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, and Greece. Situated on the Adriatic Sea, the country is home to approximately 3.6 million people, according to a 2003 estimate. Albania’s predominantly Islamic culture makes it unique in Europe, with 70 percent of the population identifying itself as Muslim and 30 percent as Christian (the remaining population is 20% Albanian Orthodox and 10% Roman Catholic). Albanian is the country’s official language, and Greek is also spoken.

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Othonoí Mathrákion

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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

8

In the late twentieth century, Albania began making the difficult transition to an open-market economy. The country is poor in comparison with other European nations; in 2001 an estimated 30 percent of the population lived below the poverty line, with the unemployment rate ranging from 17 to 30 percent. As of 2002, 40 percent of households lacked access to necessities such as basic education, water, sanitation, and heating. Albania gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) in 1912 and became a communist state after World War II (1939–1945), with Enver Hoxha (1908–1985) rising to power. During the Cold War Albania was considered one of the most closed and repressive states in Eastern Europe. During his forty-year reign, Hoxha banned religion, forbade travel outside the country, and outlawed private property. Any resistance to his rule was met with brutal punishment, including long-term imprisonment, exile, or execution. Between 1990 and 1992 forty-six years of communist rule came to an end in Albania when a multiparty democracy was established. The transition has proven difficult, however, due to corruption, a dilapidated infrastructure, and widespread organized crime. Although conditions have improved since the early 1990s, in the early twenty-first century Albania remained characterized by relatively weak institutions and the tenuous rule of law. The Albanian government is best described as an emerging democracy. The government is based on the Albanian Constitution, adopted by popular referendum on November 28, 1998. Support for the constitution was not widespread, however, and the country’s Democratic Party boycotted the vote for its adoption. The Albanian government is divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Albanian legislature, called the People’s Assembly, has one house with 140 seats. One hundred members are elected by direct popular vote, while forty are elected by proportional vote. Members of the assembly hold fouryear terms. The executive branch is composed of a president and prime minister; the president is elected by the People’s Assembly for a five-year term, and the president in turn appoints the prime minister. The prime minister names a cabinet, which must be approved by the president. The judicial branch is composed of a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Court, and multiple appeals and

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district courts. The Supreme Court’s eleven members are appointed by the president, and the chief justice is elected by the People’s Assembly. Citizens enjoy the right to vote at the age of eighteen. This right is universal, and voting is compulsory. Although international observers judged the legislative elections in 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, they did identify serious deficiencies, such as widespread administrative errors and inaccuracies in voter lists. Some of these deficiencies were addressed through reforms to the Albanian election law prior to the 2003 municipal elections. While levels of violence and instability have improved since the early transition from communism, security remains a concern in Albania. Problems have included police abuse, restrictions on media freedom, human trafficking, and discrimination against minorities, particularly Roma, or gypsies.

■ ■ ■ compulsory: mandatory, required, or unable to be avoided

See also: Ethnic Cleansing; Genocide; Greece; Kosovo; Macedonia. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Albania.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/al.html⬎. Elsie, Robert. Historical Dictionary of Albania. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. Glenny, Misha. The Balkans: Nationalism, Wars and the Great Powers, 1804–1999. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1999. Vickers, Miranda, and James Pettifer. Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity. New York: New York University Press, 2000. World Bank. “Albania.” Countries and Regions. ⬍http://www.worldbank.org/al⬎.

Shawn Flanigan

Algeria Algeria is the second largest country in Africa, after Sudan. It is located in the northern part of the continent, in the southwestern Mediterranean region known as the Maghrib (Arabic, meaning “sunset”), which also includes Morocco to the northwest, Tunisia to the northeast, Libya to the southeast, and Mauritania to the southwest. Algeria is also bordered by Mali on the southwest and Niger on the southeast. Algeria has an area of 2,381,740 square kilometers (91,935 square miles) of mostly desert (85%) as well as some high plateau, two mountain ranges, and a coastal plain. Algeria’s most fertile lands (3.2% of its total area) are in the northern lowlands, where most farms and orchards are located. Most of Algeria’s major cities are located in the north. The largest city is Algiers, the capital, with a population of 1.5 million. Other major cities include Oran, Constantine, Annaba, and Batna. Algeria’s population was 32,129,324 in 2004. Forty percent of the population is younger than fifteen years of age, and 70 percent is younger than thirty. Life expectancy stands at 72.7 years, and the literacy rate is 70 percent. Ethnically, the Algerians are of Arab-Berber stock, and Islam is the religion of 97 percent of the population. Arabic is the official language, yet French is widely spoken and used in business. In 2004—and under pressure from the Berber movement—the government agreed to make the Berber language (Tamazzight) an additional national and official language.

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Algeria

HISTORY

■ ■ ■ imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion emir: a ruler in a country with a government based on Islamic religious beliefs

In the early history of the region, the area that later became Algeria was occupied by several foreign powers. The Berbers are the oldest inhabitants of that land. The Phoenicians also established themselves in that region in 1,100 B.C.E., and the Romans conquered it in 146 B.C.E. In the fifth century the Vandals invaded the region, followed by the Byzantine Empire, and in the seventh century the Arabs conquered the area and made it part of the Arabo-Islamic Empire. From 1518 to 1830, Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), which protected it against the imperial ambitions of the Europeans. When the Ottoman Empire started to weaken, France invaded Algeria in 1830. It took the French forty years to subdue the Algerians by quelling the resistance led by Emir Abdel Kader (1808–1883), the forefather of modern Algeria. The French rule, which lasted for 130 years, was characterized by brutal repression and dispossession of the Algerians and a massive import of European settlers, finally ending in a violent seven-year revolution, which began in 1954 under the leadership of the National Liberation Front (FLN) and ended with independence in 1962.

POLITICS SINCE INDEPENDENCE

coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

The first president of independent Algeria was Ahmed Ben Bella (b. 1918), a leader of the anticolonial struggle. He was overthrown in 1965 in a military coup led by Colonel Houari Boumediene (1932–1978), who ruled until his

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death in 1978. Colonel Chadli Bendjedid (b. 1929) was chosen by the military to succeed Boumediene; Bendjedid was ousted in 1992. From independence to 1989, Algeria was controlled by the military and the FLN—the only legal party during that time. As the socialist system instituted in the 1960s started to fail, Algeria attempted some economic reforms and moved hesitantly toward a market economy. However, the economic decline was exacerbated by the reforms and a sharp drop in oil prices in 1986. The combination of a weakening economy and an unresponsive authoritarian rule caused major riots in 1989. After an initial repression, which left 500 people dead within a week, the state suddenly engaged the country in a sweeping political liberalization that ended the one-party system and allowed freedoms of association and expression.

■ ■ ■ socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods market economy: an economy with little government ownership and relatively free markets authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

In the first multiparty local elections in 1990, a religious party, the Islamic Front for Salvation, which sought to transform Algeria into an Islamic state, won overwhelmingly. In December 1991, it also won a majority of seats in the first balloting of the legislative elections. Less than a month later, however, the military suspended further voting, pushed President Bendjedid to resign, banned the Islamic Front for Salvation, and arrested thousands of Islamists. A High Council of State was formed to run the country temporarily. This development marked the beginning of a dark decade for Algeria, as the Islamists engaged in a violent armed rebellion and the state responded in kind. Between 1992 and 2005, the fighting claimed close to 200,000 lives and destroyed much of the social and economic infrastructure. In 1997, new multiparty legislative elections were held under the revised constitution, which had been amended in 1996. In 1999, with the tacit support of the military, Abdelaziz Bouteflika (b. 1937), a civilian and former minister of foreign affairs, won the presidential election by default when his six opponents withdrew from the race because of alleged electoral fraud. A few months later, voters approved his peace plan (called the National Concord), which pardoned Islamist fighters who surrendered. The bulk of the Islamist rebels gave up the fight but as of 2004, two hard-line groups still refused to do so—Al-Jama’at al-Islamyyia al-Mussalaha (Armed Islamic Groups) and Al-Jama’a al-Salafyyia lil-Da’wa wa al-Kifah (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat). Since 2001 the government has faced a relatively new challenge, that of a movement demanding the recognition of the Berber language as a national and official language as well as political and economic reforms. The government agreed to the movement’s linguistic and cultural demands but not to the rest. Predominantly concentrated in the Berber region of Kabylie (east of Algiers), as of 2004 this movement vowed to maintain its pressure until all of its demands were met. G O V E R N M E N T S T R U C T U R E S A N D P O L I T I C A L PA R T I E S

Algeria is a republic in which power is theoretically shared by the president, a prime minister, and parliament. The president is elected every five years by popular vote and cannot serve more than two terms. The president is given a wide authority over the political process and appoints a prime minister who is also responsible to the parliament. Parliament is bicameral. Of the 144 members of the upper house (Council of the Nation), one-third are appointed by the president and the remainder are elected by indirect suffrage. The 389 members of the lower house (National People’s Assembly) are elected directly and serve five-year terms. G O V E R N M E N T S

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republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

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■ ■ ■ coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

In the 2002 elections, two conservative and pro-government parties along with two moderate Islamist parties won most of the seats and formed a coalition supporting the president and his prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahia (b. 1953). These parties are the FLN (199 seats), the National Democratic Rally (48 seats), Harakat Mujtam’a al-Silm (Movement of Society for Peace; 38 seats), and Harakat al-Islah al-Watani (Movement for National Reform; 43 seats). Two other important parties, which boycotted the 2002 elections, are the Front of Socialist Forces and the Rally for Culture and Democracy. Both parties are supported mostly in the Berber region of Kabylie. Many more parties exist, some of which hold one or more seats in parliament. Hundreds of civic associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) specializing in a host of issues operate within the country. The General Union of Algerian Workers, a pro-government organization, is the oldest and largest union. Other independent unions and professional associations exist, but they struggle to have a voice in public policies affecting their members.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s “Civil Concord” (or National Concord) received wide support as it exchanged peace with Muslim militants for absolution of crimes committed during the country’s quasi-civil war. (SOURCE:

AN ALGERIAN WOMAN VOTES IN ALGIERS IN 1999. © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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The constitution makes Islam the state’s religion and prohibits discrimination based on religious belief. The government respects the rights of the small Christian and Jewish populations, who are allowed to practice their faiths. The legal system is based on French and Islamic laws and the judicial review of government acts, and legislation is enacted by the Constitutional Council.

■ ■ ■ judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution

ECONOMIC CRISIS AND REFORMS

Algeria’s economy depends mostly on the oil and natural gas sector, which accounts for over 95 percent of export earnings, 60 percent of budget revenues, and 30 percent of the gross domestic product. It has the fourteenth largest oil reserves in the world. With the seventh largest gas reserves, Algeria ranks as the second largest gas exporter. Other exports include refined oil products, phosphate rock, iron ore, uranium, lead, zinc, citrus fruits, and dates. The Algerian currency is the dinar. After independence Algeria opted for a socialist economy, with the state controlling most production and service activities and being primarily responsible for employment, welfare, and social protection. After its initial success, the development strategy failed to keep up with the demands of a rising population and an increasingly constraining international environment. By the late 1980s, the economy had settled into a deep and serious crisis that the state could not resolve alone. In 1994 the country adopted an economic structural adjustment program sponsored by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Algeria’s financial and macroeconomic indicators improved markedly, but living standards and unemployment worsened due to the austerity measures. Although hydrocarbon export earnings, trade surplus, and foreign exchange reserves reached record levels, the percentage of people living below the poverty line reached 23 percent by 1999. In 2002, the government initiated a $50 billion development program, which it hoped would alleviate the crisis. Furthermore, the government attempted to diversify the economy by seeking foreign and domestic investment outside of the energy sector. However, as of 2004 the reforms and investments had shown limited results. After slow growth during the 1990s and early 2000s, the economy grew 6.5 percent in 2003. Agriculture grew at an unprecedented rate of 27 percent, and the energy sector expanded at an 8 percent rate. However, the nonhydrocarbon industrial sector grew only 1.2 percent. By sector, employment in 2004 was: agriculture, 14 percent; industry, 13.4 percent; construction and public works, 10 percent; trade, 15 percent; government, 32 percent; and other sectors, 16 percent. Unemployment stood at 26 percent of the labor force. Most of the unemployed are workers under the age of 25. To keep up with demands for employment, the country needs to create at least 300,000 new jobs every year—something it has been unable to do. The 2004 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program ranked Algeria 108 on the Human Development Index among 177 countries.

macroeconomics: a study of economics in terms of whole systems, especially with reference to general levels of output and income and to the interrelations among sectors of the economy austere: extremely stern; simple and undecorated

C O N C LU S I O N

Algeria’s economic and political difficulties are substantial but not insurmountable. The country has the human and material resources necessary to create sustainable development. However, the road ahead is difficult and long. The country has come a long way from the days when society was pacified by oil-rent subsidies and welfare offered by an authoritarian rule that drew legitimacy from the war of independence and the distributive policy.

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subsidy: a government grant used to encourage some action

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Subsidies and welfare benefits have been drastically curtailed, the society is no longer docile, and the authoritarian rule has retreated slightly after a series of assaults against it at home and from abroad. However, in the wake of the war against armed Islamic groups, the states took away some of the liberties it allowed after 1989; as of 2004, the government had not yet lifted the state of siege it imposed in 1991. The judicial system is not independent and is unable to hold public officials accountable for their actions. Thousands of missing persons cases remain unsolved, and families only have recourse through international non-governmental organizations, rather than their country’s legal and political system, for help. During the the first half of 2000, freedom of the press was curtailed by new laws, and several journalists have been jailed under the pretext of violating such laws.

■ ■ ■ recourse: a resource for assistance

In its 2005 Freedom in the World survey, Freedom House classified Algeria as “not free,” assigning the country a 6 on the political rights scale and a 5 on its civil liberties scale, where 1 represented the best possible freedom rating and 7 the worst. Algeria’s scores were not out of line for North Africa, however: Freedom House gave Tunisia and Egypt identical 6s and 5s and Libya the worstpossible 7s. (Only Morocco did better, receiving a “partly free” classification to correspond with its scores of 5 on political rights and 4 on civil liberties.) Thus, although Algeria has liberalized economically, it has much left to accomplish to establish firmly for its citizens the rights and liberties of a liberal democratic state. Algeria’s newfound friendship with the United States since September 11, 2001, might help push Algeria in the right direction, but only if the United States conditions its economic and security assistance on genuine political reforms, which include and empower various social forces in Algeria’s political process. See also: France; Shari’a. BIBLIOGRAPHY Aissaoui, Ali. Algeria: The Political Economy of Oil and Gas. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. “Algeria.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ag.html⬎. Bennoune, Mahfoud. The Making Of Contemporary Algeria 1830–1987: Colonial Upheavals and Post-Independence Development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Connelly, Mathew. A Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria’s Fight for Independence and the Origins of the Post–Cold War Era. Washington, DC: Oxford University Press, 2002. Freedom House. “Table of Independent Countries: Comparative Measures of Freedom.” Freedom in the World 2005. New York: Freedom House, 2005. ⬍http:// www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2005/table2005.pdf⬎. Layachi, Azzedine. “Domestic and International Constraints of Economic Adjustment in Algeria.” In The New Global Economy: North African Responses, ed. Dirk Vandewalle. Boulder, CO: St. Martin’s Press, 1996. Layachi, Azzedine. “Political Liberalization and the Islamist Movement in Algeria.” Journal of North African Studies 9, no. 2 (2004):46–67. Layachi, Azzedine. “Algeria: Crisis, Transition and Social Policy Outcomes.” In Social Policy And Development The Middle East and North Africa, ed. Massoud Karshenas and Valentine Moghadam. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

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Martinez, Luis. The Algerian Civil War, 1990–1998. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Quandt, William B. Between Ballots and Bullets: Algeria’s Transition from Authoritarianism. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1998. Ramonet, Ignacio. “Algeria: The Unforgiven.” Le Monde Diplomatique, July 2001. ⬍http://mondediplo.com/2001/07/01leader⬎. Ruedy, John. Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992. “Sizing the Informal Sector in Algeria.” The North Africa Journal 148 (2004). ⬍http://www.northafricajournal.com⬎. Stora, Benjamin, and Jane Marie Todd. Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short History. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. World Bank. “Algeria.” Countries and Regions. ⬍http://www.worldbank.org/dz⬎.

Azzedine Layachi

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a private nonprofit organization devoted to the defense of civil liberties. Civil liberties are those rights enjoyed by individuals over and against the power of government. The civil liberties agenda of the ACLU includes First Amendment rights, including freedom of speech, the press, and assembly, the free exercise of religion, and the prohibition of governmental establishment of religion; equal protection under the laws, including equality for racial and ethnic minorities, women, and other groups that have experienced discrimination; due process of law, including protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and protection against self-incrimination; and the right to privacy, including a woman’s right to an abortion. The ACLU was founded in January 1920. It was an outgrowth of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB), which was created in 1917 to protect freedom of speech during World War I (1914–1918). After the United States entered the war in 1917, the government began to suppress free speech and violated other civil liberties. The NCLB was founded and led by Crystal Eastman (1881–1928) and Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981), both of whom were political activists opposed to U.S. involvement in World War I. Eastman soon withdrew because of health problems and Baldwin became the principal NCLB leader. Following the end of World War I, Baldwin and others recognized the need for a permanent organization to fight for civil liberties, and they created the ACLU. Baldwin served as director of the ACLU from 1920 until his retirement in 1950. During those years he was recognized as the principal advocate of civil liberties in the United States. The ACLU has been involved in many famous cases and controversies, and through its litigation the organization has had a major impact on the development of constitutional law. When it was founded in 1920, there were no U.S. Supreme Court cases upholding First Amendment protection of freedom of speech or other civil liberties. One historian estimates that the ACLU was involved, directly or indirectly, in 80 percent of all recognized landmark civil liberties cases decided by the Supreme Court in the twentieth century. Initially, the ACLU primarily filed amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in court cases, addressing the civil liberties issues involved. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ litigate: to bring a disagreement or violation of the law before a judge for a legal decision

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ACLU FOUNDER ROGER BALDWIN. In January 1970 Baldwin celebrated the organization’s fiftieth anniversary. Created in 1920, the ACLU’s mission focuses on protecting individual rights, a cause Baldwin remained dedicated to during his retirement after thirty years of service. (SOURCE: © BETTMANN/CORBIS)

In the 1960s it began providing direct legal representation to its clients, handling all aspects of a case. In addition to representing people in civil liberties court cases, the ACLU maintains an active lobbying program in Congress and all fifty state legislatures, as well as a public education program on civil liberties issues.

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The first major ACLU case involved a challenge to a 1925 Tennessee law outlawing the teaching of evolution in the public schools of that state. The ACLU represented biology teacher John T. Scopes (1900–1970) at his well-known trial in Dayton, Tennessee, in the summer of 1925. The Scopes case is one of the most famous controversies in American history, embodying the principle of freedom to teach unpopular ideas and opposition to the government’s establishment of religion. The ACLU has also been involved in many cases and controversies involving freedom of speech for unpopular ideas. Beginning in the late 1930s, it began to win Supreme Court cases upholding the free-speech rights of communists and other advocates of radical political ideas. One of the most controversial First Amendment controversies occurred in 1977 and 1978, when the ACLU defended the right of a small American Nazi group to hold a demonstration in the heavily Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois. The ACLU was severely criticized for defending the rights of a group associated with the Holocaust, and the organization lost many members as a result. Eventually, the federal courts upheld the ACLU’s position on the free speech and assembly rights of hate groups.

■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

During World War II (1939–1945) the ACLU defended the rights of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans who had been evacuated from the west coast of the United States and interned in concentration camps. Because of popular support for the war effort, the ACLU was the only national organization willing to provide significant support for interned Japanese Americans, representing them in several important Supreme Court cases. The Supreme Court upheld the government’s actions in Hirabayashi v. United States (1943) and Korematsu v. United States (1944), but public opinion and subsequent court cases have supported the ACLU’s argument that the harsh treatment of Japanese Americans during the war was a gross violation of civil liberties. In the 1960s and 1970s the ACLU’s agenda expanded enormously to include new areas of civil liberties, including women’s rights, prisoners’ rights, children’s rights, a woman’s right to choose an abortion, and the rights of homosexuals and lesbians. The ACLU has also been involved in issues related to war and national security. It fought violations of civil liberties associated with the Vietnam War (1964–1975) and the war on terrorism that began after September 11, 2001. Throughout its history the ACLU has been an extremely controversial organization. Because of its support of free speech for communists and other dissidents, political conservatives have repeatedly attacked it as being radical and “un-American.” Because of its support of the separation of church and state, including prohibitions on prayer in public schools, many religious leaders have accused the ACLU of being “godless” and of undermining the moral fabric of American society.

dissident: one who disagrees with the actions or political philosophy of his or her government or religion

The ACLU is a national organization with almost 400,000 members. It maintains a national office in New York City, a legislative office in Washington, D.C., and staffed affiliate offices in all fifty states. The work of the ACLU is financed by members’ dues, tax-deductible contributions, and grants to support specific projects. Grants from private foundations and donors support a series of special projects related to such issues as reproductive rights, women’s rights, and voting rights. See also: Amnesty International; Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY American Civil Liberties Union. ⬍http://www.aclu.org⬎. Cottrell, Robert C. Roger Nash Baldwin and the American Civil Liberties Union. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Walker, Samuel. In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU, 2nd ed. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1999.

Samuel Walker

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights

■ ■ ■ ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

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The Organization of American States (OAS) promotes and protects human rights in the Western Hemisphere through a comprehensive system of norms, institutions, and procedures. The OAS Charter, the constitution of the organization, contains few references to human rights, although there are provisions specifically devoted to representative democracy, human rights and equality, economic rights, and the right to education. Two of the most important legal instruments for the OAS member states are the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) and the American Convention on Human Rights (1969). The Convention has been supplemented by two further treaties: the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1988) and the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (1990). These treaties are binding only on the states that ratify them. The Ninth International Conference of American States, which concluded the OAS Charter, also adopted the American Declaration as a nonbinding conference resolution on May 2, 1948. Over time, the legal status of the Declaration evolved, and today it is generally held to set forth the “fundamental rights of the individual” referred to in Article 3(1) of the OAS Charter. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has found that “for the member states of the Organization, the Declaration is the text that defines the human rights referred to in the Charter” and is thus a source of legal obligation (Advisory Opinion OC, 10/89). The Declaration proclaims a list of twenty-seven human rights and ten duties, addressing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The rights set forth include the right to life, liberty, and security of person; equality before the law; residence and movement; fair trial; protection from arbitrary arrest; due process of law; privacy, property, work, health, education, social security, nationality, and asylum; the benefits of culture; and leisure time. Basic freedoms, including freedom of religion, expression, assembly, and association are also guaranteed. The duties listed include a duty to society, toward children and parents, to receive instruction, to vote, to obey the law, to serve the community and the nation, to pay taxes, and to work. In 1967, the OAS amended its charter to include a provision calling for a binding treaty on human rights. The treaty was adopted in 1969 as the American Convention on Human Rights and entered into force in 1978. The Convention protects primarily civil and political rights, defining in more detail some of the G O V E R N M E N T S

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rights contained in the American Declaration. Article 26 of the Convention also calls for progressive measures by states that participate to achieve “full realization of the rights implicit in the economic, social, education, scientific, and cultural standards set forth in the Charter.” In addition to conferring new functions on the preexisting Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Convention created an Inter-American Court to supervise state compliance with the Convention. Individuals and groups, after having recourse to all local remedies, may file petitions against states that violate the guaranteed rights. The Protocol on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which entered into force in 1999, obliges parties to it to take progressive action, according to their degree of development, to achieve observance of the right to work and to just, equitable, and satisfactory conditions of work; the right to organize trade unions and to strike; the right to social security; the right to health; the right to a healthy environment; the right to food; the right to education; the right to the benefits of culture; and the right to the formation and protection of families. In addition, special protections are afforded certain vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and the disabled. The Convention’s petition procedures extend to two rights in the Protocol: the right to form trade unions (Article 8a)

■ ■ ■ recourse: a resource for assistance petition: a written appeal for a desired action, or, to request an action, especially of government

THE MAIN BUILDING OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES (OAS) IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Built in 1910, the Organization of American States (OAS) main building is referred to as the “House of the Americas.” Among the OAS’s objectives are promoting democracy and free trade along with ensuring human rights and security. (SOURCE: © BETTMAN/CORBIS)

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and the right to education (Article 13). Implementation of the remaining rights is supervised through a system of state reports. Some recognized rights may be limited or suspended under certain circumstances. The Declaration and the Convention each contain a clause that provides that the rights of each person are limited by the rights of others, by the security of all, and by the just demands of the general welfare in a democratic society. In addition, some rights in the Convention are accompanied by specific provisions that permit limitations in the interest of national security, public safety, or public order, or to protect public health or morals or the rights or freedoms of others.

■ ■ ■ juridical: relating to, created by, or pertaining to the judiciary

amparo: a legal action or law that offers protection of rights habeas corpus: a written order to determine whether one’s detention or imprisonment is lawful; Latin for “you shall have the body”

Article 27 of the Convention permits a state party to suspend one or more rights during a period of national emergency. Any such measure must be nondiscriminatory and “strictly required by the exigencies of the situation” (Advisory Opinion OC, 9/87). In addition, it is never permitted to suspend the rights to juridical personality, life, humane treatment, freedom from slavery, freedom from ex post facto laws, freedom of conscience and religion, rights of the family, right to a name, rights of the child, right to nationality, and the right to participate in government. In all cases, the judicial guarantees essential for the protection of human rights, including procedures of amparo and habeas corpus must be maintained. States are obliged not only to respect the observance of rights and freedoms but also to guarantee their existence and the exercise of all of them. Thus any act or omission by any public authority that impairs guaranteed rights may violate a state’s obligations. The inter-American system has several advantages over other regional or global petition procedures. Standing to file a petition is virtually unlimited, and other admissibility requirements are less burdensome within the OAS system than elsewhere. The procedures are relatively informal, which theoretically allows the Commission to move more quickly when necessary and to respond flexibly to a variety of situations. The Commission also has the unique option of being able to undertake a major study of the human rights situation in a country, even if its investigation begins with the consideration of an individual case. The system has had considerable impact on the domestic laws and policies of OAS member states since its inception. See also: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. BIBLIOGRAPHY Advisory Opinion OC, 9/87. Judicial Guarantees in States of Emergency, Arts. 27(2), 25 and 8 of the American Convention on Human Rights, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (Ser. A) No. 9 (1987). University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. ⬍http://heiwww. unige.ch/humanrts/iachr/b_11_4i.htm⬎. Advisory Opinion OC, 10/89. Interpretation of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man Within the Framework of Article 64 of the American Convention on Human Rights, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (Ser. A) No. 10 (1989). University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. ⬍http://heiwww.unige.ch/humanrts/iachr/ b_11_4j.htm⬎. Buergenthal, Thomas, and Dinah Shelton. Protecting Human Rights in the Americas: Cases and Material, 4th ed., rev. Arlington, VA: N. P. Engel, 1995. Davidson, Scott. The Inter-American Human Rights System. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 1998.

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General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. The Inter-American System. 4 vols. Washington, DC: General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, 1982. Harris, David J., and Stephen Livingstone, eds. The Inter-American System of Human Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Dinah Shelton

Amnesty International

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Amnesty International is a global organization with an international, grassroots membership devoted to the protection and promotion of human rights around the world. It was founded in 1961 in London on the inspiration of Peter Benenson (1921–2005), a lawyer with a long-standing interest in civil liberties. Amnesty International started as a short-term publicity campaign, launched in a newspaper article and coordinated through Benenson’s office. Within two years Benenson and his colleague Eric Baker, a Quaker activist, had established a permanent but small and frugally run organization whose central purpose was to coordinate local groups of ordinary citizens who would “adopt” individuals imprisoned in other countries for their nonviolent beliefs. Amnesty International referred to the adopted prisoners as prisoners of conscience, a term coined by Baker. Prisoners were assigned to the earliest groups in politically balanced sets of three. One prisoner would be assigned from a Western country, one from the Soviet bloc, and one from a nonaligned country. Group members were not permitted to adopt prisoners in their own countries. Members worked to support a prisoner and the prisoner’s family, educating themselves about the political system in the adopted prisoner’s country, and working for the prisoner’s release by writing letters to the relevant authorities. Although local groups may still adopt prisoners, not all do, and as of 2003 not all Amnesty International members belonged to a local group. Members may also participate in campaigns targeting particular kinds of human rights abuses or focusing on the human rights situation of one particular country. Amnesty International is well known for its commitment to accurate, impartial reporting on human rights violations around the world. Its yearly Amnesty International Report assesses in brief the human rights performances of most countries in the world. Amnesty International’s fact-finding activity started in the late 1960s, when the organization began to employ researchers to write special reports on human rights in various countries. Amnesty International uses research both to inform its own work and also to educate the public about human rights violations across the world. In the 1970s the organization began to combine its members’ activism with the professional staff ’s activities to press the United Nations (UN) and regional intergovernmental human rights bodies to develop legal standards prohibiting torture, political killings, disappearances, and other human rights abuses. Amnesty International is widely credited with bringing torture to world attention through its global campaign for the abolition of the practice in 1973. That campaign also saw the beginning of Amnesty International’s Urgent Action Network, a global quick-response system based in Colorado and linked to Amnesty International headquarters in London. In an extension of the letter-writing technique for prisoner adoption, the Urgent Action office asks members to act quickly and send letters, e-mails, telegrams, or faxes to authorities on behalf of threatened individuals around the world. G O V E R N M E N T S

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bloc: a group of countries or individuals working toward a common goal, usually within a convention or other political body

intergovernmental: between or involving multiple governments, with each government retaining full decision-making power

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MOCK GRAVE MARKERS PROMOTE ARMS CONTROL IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE IN LONDON, ENGLAND. Seeking an arms trade treaty in the United Kingdom, Amnesty International

lobbied legislators in October 2003 to create strict export controls. The nonpartisan group works to protect human rights by raising awareness on various issues based on principles outlined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

From its inception Amnesty International has based its demands on select parts of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights: those articles concerned with freedom of speech, freedom of religion and of thought, humane treatment of prisoners, and the right to a fair trial. This set of principles was incorporated in Amnesty International’s mandate, which served as a benchmark for all its work. Periodically, the mandate has been expanded or altered to

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address new human rights issues. In 2001 Amnesty International broadened its mandate considerably to encompass a full array of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as the body of international law governing armed conflict. STRUCTURE, FUNDING, AND GOVERNANCE

As of 2002, the global headquarters in London, known as the International Secretariat, housed approximately four hundred paid staff members and over one hundred volunteers. Research activities and campaigning strategies are directed from London, as are the organization’s contacts with various parts of the UN and other intergovernmental organizations. For the most part, however, few Amnesty International members have direct contact with the International Secretariat. Instead, they are served by national Amnesty International offices that maintain contact with London. The national offices, especially the larger ones, have a good deal of independence and are expected to recruit members and funds to both further their own work and support the work of the International Secretariat. In order to preserve its independence and impartiality, Amnesty International does not accept any funding from governments, other than small amounts for prisoner relief and human rights education. Members’ donations and other fund-raising activities support the bulk of its day-to-day operations. Amnesty International relies heavily on participation and governance by its members. A board of directors elected by the membership sets priorities for the national section of Amnesty International in the United States, for example, and the direction of the organization is further shaped by members at annual meetings. Similarly, international policies are established by an elected International Council and International Executive Committee. The International Executive Committee appoints a secretary-general, Amnesty International’s director. SOURCES OF CHALLENGE AND CHANGE

Because they monitor the changing activities of governments and other potential abusers of human rights, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations must also change. Not surprisingly, an added source of debate and innovation for Amnesty International has been the creative tension between the demands of its grassroots membership and its organizational policy. Amnesty International’s original, narrowly focused mandate coupled with its members’ strong commitment to human rights was a source of strength for it as a young organization. The mandate’s expansion to encompass economic and social rights reflects two aspects of Amnesty International’s growth. First, its members, including many in developing countries, have become sensitive to poverty and international economic injustices as major sources of human rights problems. They want Amnesty International to address such issues. Second, Amnesty International has become a nearly global household word as a result of its human rights advocacy. Just as human rights problems may evolve over time, Amnesty International’s high profile leads to expectations that it will explore in depth the causes underlying human rights problems and implement active strategies for their resolution, in addition to the more reactive approaches reflected in its time-tested prisoner adoption and campaigning techniques. See also: American Civil Liberties Union; Universal Declaration of Human Rights. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. Facts and Figures: The Work of Amnesty International. New York: Amnesty International, 2002. ⬍http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ ENGORG100032002⬎. Amnesty International. “Globalise This: Human Rights.” OECD Observer, no. 231/232 (May 2002):38–39. Amnesty International. Statute of Amnesty International, as Amended by the 26th Meeting of the International Council, Morelos, Mexico, August 16–23 2003. ⬍http://www.amnestyusa.org/about/statute.html⬎. Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 2004. New York: Amnesty International Publications, 2004. Baehr, Peter R. “Amnesty International and Its Self-Imposed Limited Mandate.” Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 12, no. 1 (1994):5–21. Buchanan, Tom. “ ‘The Truth Will Set You Free:’ The Making of Amnesty International.” Journal of Contemporary History 37, no. 4 (2002):575–597. Clark, Ann Marie. Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001. Kaufman, Edy. “Prisoners of Conscience: The Shaping of a New Human Rights Concept.” Human Rights Quarterly 13 (1991):339–367. Power, Jonathan. Like Water on Stone: The Story of Amnesty International. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001. Robertson, Fiona. “NGOs and the Advancement of Economic and Social Rights: Philosophical and Practical Controversies.” International Relations 17, no. 1 (2003):79–96.

Ann Marie Clark

Andorra See: European Microstates.

Angola The Republic of Angola is located on the southern Atlantic coast of Africa and is bordered by the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north, Namibia to the south, and Zambia to the east. Angola has a narrow coastal plain that rises sharply into a plateau. The country is roughly twice the size of Texas, with abundant natural resources such as diamonds, gold, bountiful Atlantic fishing, and rich oil deposits. According to the CIA World Factbook, Angola had a population of 10.8 million in 2003. Formerly a colony of Portugal, Angola declared its independence in 1975 after years of fighting and has been ravaged by civil war for most of the time since, nominally controlled by a one-party Marxist state until 1992. A United Nations’ (UN)-observed election was held after a brief cease-fire between Marxist and Western-backed factions in 1992; the Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) faction won this election. However, despite the UN assertion that the election had been both fair and free, the Western-backed National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) claimed fraud, and the civil war resumed. In 2002 the death of Jonas Savimbi, the political

■ ■ ■ factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government

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leader of the UNITA, led to a suspension of fighting, with the pro-Western group disarming to become the major opposition to the MPLA, led by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos (b. 1942). In theory, Angola is a multiparty democracy with universal suffrage for all citizens eighteen years or older. Its government is based on the civil law and customary law system of Portugal, and the “democracy” has been in existence since 1991 with the passage of a constitution legalizing opposition parties. In reality, however, President dos Santos has not allowed regular democratic processes to take effect; the last legislative elections took place in 1992. Despite its division into eighteen regional governments, Angola is a highly centralized state with most of its power concentrated in the executive branch, which consists of a president, a council of ministers appointed by the president, and a prime minister subordinate to the president. Judicial review, although constitutionally authorized, plays little role, with the Tribunal da Relacao (Supreme Court) appointed by the president. The legislative branch consists of a unicameral Assembleia Nacional (National Legislature), with the MPLA holding an absolute majority (54%), which it has enjoyed since the 1992 elections. Continued political instability in Angola has produced widespread government corruption. Over $4 billion of oil revenue disappeared from government coffers between

PointeNoire

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customary law: a law created by the traditions of a community but never officially declared in force

centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body

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■ ■ ■ suffrage: to vote or, the right to vote

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1997 and 2002; this is roughly the same amount that the government spent on social services during the same period. Human rights are also a concern in Angola. Some child soldiers recruited during the years of civil war continue to fight in the armed forces, although this becomes less common as many of them rejoin their families or reach the age of eighteen. The torture, killing, and unlawful seizure of civilians by security forces persist, however, and the government continues to restrict freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the rights of workers to organize. Moreover, thousands of families displaced by civil war have been forcibly evicted from their homes, often violently, as the end of the conflict has led to increased pressure by local and business elites to acquire prime land. See also: Peacekeeping Forces.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Angola.”In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ao.html⬎. McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of African History, 2nd ed. Hong Kong: Penguin Books, 1995. Republic of Angola. ⬍http://www.angola.org/⬎.

Gregory Johnston

Antigua and Barbuda ■ ■ ■

The twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda is located in the Caribbean, within an archipelago of islands in the Atlantic Ocean between North and South America. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the Northern Leeward Island states. Antigua is 280 square kilometers (108.1 square miles) in area, while Barbuda is 161 square kilometers (62.1 square miles). The entire land area is approximately 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C., and as of 2003 the total population was estimated to be 67,897. Ninety-five percent of its residents are younger than 65 years of age. The island of Antigua is relatively flat, with sparse vegetation and no rivers, while Barbuda is totally flat and thickly forested. The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands in prehistoric times, followed by the Arawak and Carib starting in the first century. The island was named for a church in Spain, Santa Maria de la Antigua, by Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) in 1493. Antigua became a British colony in 1667 and Barbuda was annexed to it in 1860. Antigua and Barbuda became associated as a state of the United Kingdom in 1967; the nation retained that status until 1981 when it became independent. From 1945 until 1994, except for one five-year legislative term (1971–1976), Antigua (subsequently Antigua and Barbuda) was led by Vere C. Bird (1909–1999), first as a legislative leader and then as chief minister premier, or prime minister. His son Lester Bird (b. 1938) succeeded him in 1994 and served in that capacity until his defeat by opposition leader Baldwin Spencer (b. 1948) in the March 2004 elections.

archipelago: a chain of islands in close proximity to one another

annex: to incorporate; to take control of politically and/or physically

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With an infant mortality rate of 20.9 deaths for every 1,000 live births and an average life expectancy of 71.31 years, the state’s citizens enjoy good quality of life. Literacy is rated at between 89 and 91 percent. Most citizens are Christian, and the major denomination is the Anglican faith. Antigua and Barbuda is a constitutional democracy that, similar to many ■ ■ ■ others in the region, has retained the British monarch as head of state. In subgovernor-general: a governor who rules stance the monarch’s functions are carried out by a local governor-general, a over a large territory and employs deputy position held in 2004 by Sir James Carlisle (b. 1937). Executive authority, howgovernors to oversee subdivided regions ever, actually rests with a cabinet that is appointed by the leader of the majority party after the general elections every five years; that leader then becomes prime minister. As is the case with most of its neighbors, Antigua and Barbuda has inherited its current system of government from Britain “the Westminsterexport model,” as it has been termed by constitutional scholars. Under this system of government a separation of powers exists between the legislature (the parliament), the executive (the cabinet and governor-general), and the judiciary (the magANTIGUA & BARBUDA istracy, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, 10 Miles 2 4 6 8 0 and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council). It should be 0 2 4 6 8 10 Kilometers noted that this separation is not rigidly observed with respect to the first two branches of government. ATLANTIC Goat Point e All adults over the age of eighteen have the right to vote in Cov b b Cedar-tree OCEAN Hog Point Co Point Antigua and Barbuda, and the constitution provides a catalogue Two-feet Bay of guarantees and freedoms that correspond to the fundamenCodrington Lagoon tal rights required by several international conventions. These Codrington include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of Caribbean thought, freedom of movement; and state guarantees against Sea Dulcina Welch Point discrimination, deprivation of property without adequate comPalmetto Point Pelican pensation, and arbitrary search and seizure. Two main political Bay BARBUDA parties contend for the vote of the electorate, and uncensored, Spanish Point G B a r a ve up-to-date news is available to Antigua and Barbuda’s residents no y r through six radio stations, two local television stations, cable Prickly Pear I. Humphry s Ba y Beggars Point Boon Point programming, and the Internet. Long I. Dickinson Ba y

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Cumberbatch, Jefferson. “Antigua and Barbuda.” In Legal Systems of the World, Vol. 1, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.

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Crystal, David, ed. “Antigua and Barbuda.” In Cambridge Paperback Encyclopedia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

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Augier, F. Roy, S.C. Gordon, Douglas G. Hall, and M. Reckord. The Making of the West Indies. London: Longman, 1970.

Famighetti, Robert, ed. “Nations of the World.” In The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Mahwah, NJ: World Almanac, 1997.

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Antoine, Rose-Marie. Commonwealth Caribbean Legal Systems. London: Cavendish, 1998.

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“Antigua and Barbuda.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/ publications/factbook/geos/ac.html⬎.

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Gunthrop, Dale, ed. “The Member Countries.” In The Commonwealth Yearbook. London: Hanson Cooke, 1997. Schemmel, B. “Antigua and Barbuda.” Rulers. ⬍http://www.rulers.org/rula2.html# antigua_and_barbuda⬎. Williams, Eric. From Columbus to Casino: The History of the Caribbean, 1492–1969. London: Andre Deutsch, 1970.

Jefferson Cumberbatch

Apartheid Apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning literally “apartness,” was first used in a political sense in 1948 by Daniel François Malan (1874–1959), prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. It refers to a political system in which different races are kept apart, or segregated, by law. Unlike forms of racial segregation practiced in the United States, however, the doctrine of apartheid called for each race to develop autonomously and almost entirely separately from one another. South Africa, which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), described as “the classic example of organized and institutionalized racism,” officially implemented such a policy over the course of fifty years (1949–1989). Eventually, with growing internal resistance from an increasingly restive and oppressed majority population of blacks, deepening opposition to apartheid by whites, and strong international pressure, the policy of apartheid was discontinued by South African President F. W. de Klerk (b. 1936) in 1989. IDEOLOGICAL HISTORY AND MEANING

Apartheid is a political system that nominally requires each race to be given separate territories and separate governments, thereby allowing each race to develop autonomously. The proponents of such a doctrine argued that racial separation was necessary because the mixing of the races was unnatural and would result in conflict and social degradation, and that the “purity” of the races was something to be preserved. Such purity was important because, the proponents of apartheid asserted, racial mixing would dilute the superior qualities of the white race. Supporters also claimed to find justification for their views in the Bible, an argument adopted by the Dutch Reformed Church in the mid-nineteenth century. The racial views of apartheid supporters mirrored, to a great extent, the views of segregationists within the United States and elsewhere. The difference is that supporters of apartheid argued for a different, and more dramatic, response to those racial views than did racial segregationists in other parts of the world. The notion of creating separate homelands within the national territory, to be maintained by the government, was a key concept of apartheid, but it was not a concept seriously entertained by most American segregationists— and it never found support in U.S. government policy. POLITICAL HISTORY

Although the word apartheid would not be used to describe official government policy until 1948, the roots of this policy stretch back to the sixteenth century, when European settlers first began establishing control over both territory and native populations, often importing slaves from other parts of

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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA SIGN FORBIDS BLACKS ON BEACH. In South Africa, several laws were created in the 1950s that prohibited nonwhites from living in certain areas, owning land, having social contact with whites, and using designated public facilities. (SOURCE: HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)

Africa and Asia in the process. The imported slaves and native populations were used primarily for labor and given no real political or economic power. Over the years, the developing legal and political system of the colony—and eventually the nation—of South Africa came to reflect these racial inequalities. In 1910 South Africa was granted independence from its colonial status and became a selfdescribed “white dominion” in the British Commonwealth. Although whites comprised less than 20 percent of the population, they retained total control over the government, the powers of which they used to perpetuate economic, social, and political racial inequalities. By the 1948 elections (in which blacks and other nonwhites were not eligible to vote), many in the white minority were increasingly worried about their declining numbers relative to those of other races. Daniel François Malan, the National Party candidate, ran on a platform of what he called apartheid. The policy was intended to further strengthen whites’ privilege—and assuage fears of losing that privilege—by removing the growing populations of other races to G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ commonwealth: a government created to advance the common good of its citizens

platform: a statement of principles or legislative goals made by a political party

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so-called group areas or homelands, which, supposedly, would allow each race to develop autonomously. Legislation passed under Malan transformed the system of racial segregation long practiced in South Africa into the system of apartheid. Blacks and other nonwhites lost their ability and right to live as official residents in South Africa. Many were removed to special territories, collectively known as Bantustan, after a somewhat pejorative nickname, Bantu, that was used to describe Africans in South Africa and elsewhere. The homelands existed inside South African borders. Those who did not voluntarily relocate to the Bantustan could be removed whenever the government deemed it necessary, and they were subject to stringent forms of racial segregation while living and working in South Africa. The South African government administered these group areas in such a way as to ensure large unemployment among nonwhites, thereby providing a source of cheap labor to white industry owners. The government maintained this system through violence and terror tactics, such as the detention and torture of those suspected of opposition to apartheid (opposition to apartheid was defined by South African law as an act of sabotage, punishable by death), as well as the deployment of lethal force against otherwise peaceful demonstrations. The gross denial of equal political, legal, and social rights to South Africans of nonwhite ethnicity led to deep condemnation by the international community. A resolution condemning apartheid as a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and as a “crime against humanity” was passed in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1973. International opposition would come to include economic sanctions against trade with South Africa, and many companies divested themselves of their interests in South Africa.

■ ■ ■ sanction: economic, political, or military reprisals, or, to ratify

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

The system of apartheid in South Africa, weakened from within by growing black (and white) opposition led most prominently by the African National Congress (ANC), and pressured from without by growing international outrage, eventually collapsed in 1989, and dramatic political reforms followed. A popular referendum held two years later resulted in the overwhelming rejection of apartheid policies: Two-thirds of whites voted against apartheid. In 1994 the first democratic elections were held, sweeping the long-imprisoned Nelson Mandela (b. 1918), a prominent black anti-apartheid activist and leader of the ANC, into the presidency, and the ANC, once banned, into the legislature. Shortly thereafter, in 1996, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to investigate crimes committed by government officials and others during the struggle over apartheid, and to provide a sense of peaceful closure. Even into the early twenty-first century, under more equitable laws, South Africa struggles to address the poverty and anger that are, in part, the legacy of apartheid. See also: Biko, Stephen; Mandela, Nelson; Racism; South Africa. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gibson, James L. Overcoming Apartheid: Can Truth Reconcile a Divided Nation? New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2004. Harvey, Robert. The Fall of Apartheid. Houndsmill, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. Neville, Alexander. An Ordinary Country. Issues in the Transition from Apartheid to Democracy in South Africa. New York: Berghahn Books, 2003.

Andrew Costello

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Aquino, Corazon FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT 1933–

Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (b. 1933) was the first female president of the Republic of the Philippines. Better known simply as Cory, she was responsible for galvanizing political opposition to the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989). She gained renown as one of the cardinal leaders of the 1986 “People Power Revolution”: a nonviolent civilian-military uprising that overthrew the authoritarian regime. Her courageous stance and moral leadership also led to the rise of women leaders in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

■ ■ ■ authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

Aquino was born on January 25, 1933; her parents hailed from two of the richest and most politically powerful families in the Philippines: the Sumulongs and the Cojuangcos. She belonged to the clans that controlled the largest agricultural properties in the provinces of Tarlac and Rizal. Her father was a congressman and both her grandfathers had served as senators. Aquino received excellent academic training. She completed her secondary education at the Raven Hill Academy in Philadelphia and the Notre Dame School in New York City. In 1953 she received her B.A. from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, where she majored in both French and mathematics. Despite her background, Aquino was very disinterested in politics. Her marriage to Benigno Aquino, Jr. (1932–1983), however, ensured that politics would come to play a central role in her life. Her husband was later elected senator and became President Marcos’s main political adversary. On August 21, 1983, Senator Aquino was assassinated, an event that would trigger widespread condemnation of Marcos’s despotic rule. In Cory Aquino’s words, “tyranny had sowed a bullet and reaped a revolution” (White 1989, p. 187).

adversary: an enemy, rival, or opponent despot: a ruler who does not govern in the interest of those governed

On February 7, 1986, Aquino battled Marcos in one of the most violent presidential elections in Philippine history. A power vacuum would ensue as the Commission of Elections and its watchdog organization produced conflicting tabulations. Eventually, the “People Power Revolution” would vanquish the dictatorship. “Behind her standard,” commented authors Reid and Guerrero in a 1995 book, “Filipinos rediscovered their courage.” Aquino subsequently authorized the crafting of a new constitution that restored the fundamental freedoms of the Filipino people and its democratic institutions. However, her conservative positions and political inexperience prevented her from introducing critical socioeconomic reforms. Seven attempted military coups destabilized her leadership; the most violent one in 1989 nearly toppled it. In 1992 Aquino presided over a peaceful transfer of power to Fidel V. Ramos (b. 1928). By 2004 she had retired from electoral politics, but she continued to play an active role in efforts to establish good governance in the Philippines. She has devoted most of her time to serving as the chairperson of the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation and as an advisor to the Metrobank Foundation. Both organizations provide academic scholarships to poor but deserving students and logistical support to non-governmental organizations working on local community development.

socioeconomic: relating to the traits of income, class, and education coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

Aquino has received numerous awards in recognition of her contributions to democracy and the empowerment of women. She has been awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the United Nations Silver Medal, the Canadian International Prize for Freedom, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding (Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize). She has also received honorary doctorates from various institutions, including the Ateneo G O V E R N M E N T S

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CORAZON AQUINO TAKES OFFICE.

After her husband’s murder, Aquino led a coalition to end the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. She became the Philippines’ first female president in 1986. (SOURCE: © ROBIN MOYER/LIAISON/GETTY IMAGES)

de Manila University in the Philippines, Boston University and Fordham University in the United States, and Waseda University in Japan. Aquino’s stern adherence to nonviolent opposition, in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), would strongly influence the tactics of democratic movements in Eastern Europe, Indonesia, and China. See also: Gandhi, Mahatma; King Jr., Martin Luther; Philippines. BIBLIOGRAPHY Harris, Kenneth. “Cory Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power.” In Women in World Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D’Amico and Peter Beckman. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1995. Komisar, Lucy. Corazon Aquino: The Story of a Revolution. New York: George Braziller, 1987. Reid, Robert and Eileen Guerrero. Corazon Aquino and the Brushfire Revolution. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995.

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Roces, Mina. Women, Power and Kinship Politics: Female Power in Post-War Philippines. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. Santiago, Angela Stuart. 1986: Chronology of a Revolution. Manila: Foundation for Worldwide People Power, 1995. White, Mel. 1989. Aquino. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1989.

Rodelio Cruz Manacsa

Argentina Argentina is South America’s second largest country; its 2.78 million square kilometers (1.07 million square miles) extend almost 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) from its subtropical north to its sub-Antarctic south. It encompasses parts of the Andes Mountains, many swamps, the large plains of the Pampas, and a lengthy coastline. Argentina is bordered by Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and the South Atlantic Ocean. The Argentine population was estimated at 39.14 million in July 2004. Per capita income was estimated at $11,200 in 2003.

■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

GOVERNMENT

A republic with a strong presidential system, the Argentine government has a bicameral federal structure. The country’s history of political instability, its powerful executive and provincial governments, and a poorly institutionalized congress have moved the center of the political scene away from the national legislature. As a result, the Argentine government has often suffered from corruption scandals and weak fiscal management, culminating in 2001 with a confidence crisis and the resignation of President Fernando De la Rúa (b. 1937). Traditionally, Argentina’s president and vice president had been elected indirectly by an electoral college to a six-year term, after which neither officeholder could seek immediate re-election. Constitutional reforms adopted in August 1994 reduced the presidential term to four years, abolished the electoral college in favor of direct voting, and allowed the president and vice president to be reelected for two consecutive terms. They could seek office for a third term or more after a one-term interval. The president holds considerable power, including the ability to appoint cabinet ministers and the right to a line-item veto. Argentina’s head of state in 2004 was President Nestor Kirchner (b. 1950), who was elected by default on May 25, 2003 when his opponent, former President Carlos Saúl Menem (b. 1932), withdrew from the runoff election. Roman Catholicism is the official state religion, although the 1994 revision of the constitution removed the requirement that the president be of that faith. The constitution mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. Checks and balances on the executive branch are weak. Political bargains take place in executive quarters, in meetings of the president with governors, or in meetings of national political party leaders. Each province has its own constitution, roughly mirroring the structure of the national constitution. Administration of justice, municipal government, and elementary education are provincial responsibilities. All taxes are levied by the federal government and redistributed to the provinces. The constitution also specifies a universal social security, as well as union and labor rights. G O V E R N M E N T S

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republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently

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■ ■ ■ partisan: an ideologue, or a strong member of a cause, party, or movement

proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

magistrate: an official with authority over a government, usually a judicial official with limited jurisdiction over criminal cases

One of Argentina’s major contentions in the early twenty-first century has been the power wielded by the provincial administrations within the federal system. The provinces do not assess or collect any taxes themselves; instead, they are financed by the central government, which also incurs any debts they might accumulate. Provinces control the establishment of internal partisan rules, such as length of mandates and electoral modalities, and provincial political parties receive 80 percent of the parties’ official funding. A two-chamber federal congress holds legislative power. The lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, comprises 257 members, who are elected (by a proportional representation system) for four-year terms. Every two years, approximately half of the members are subject to re-election. Since 2001, members of the upper house, or Senate, have been directly elected. Each province, including the federal district, chooses three senators to serve six-year terms. Only a majority in both chambers of Congress can remove the cabinet and cabinet chief. The constitution establishes the judiciary branch as an independent government entity. The president appoints members of the Supreme Court with the consent of the Senate. Other federal judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of a magistrates’ council. The Supreme Court has the power, first asserted in 1854, to declare legislative acts unconstitutional. In practice, the executive branch has exerted substantial influence over the judiciary. For example, President Menem, faced with a politically hostile Supreme Court, responded with a court-packing scheme: He expanded the court from five to nine members and filled the new slots with political supporters. In the early 2000s, President Kirchner limited the president’s power to nominate judges by creating new mechanisms to control and select the candidacies to the Supreme Court. President Menem, who held power between 1989 and 1999, initiated wideranging economic reforms, designed to open the Argentine economy and enhance its international competitiveness. Privatization, deregulation, fewer import barriers, and a fixed exchange rate were the cornerstones of this effort. All of these changes dramatically reduced the role of the Argentine state in regulating the domestic economy. ■ ■ ■

T H E D I RT Y WA R From 1976 to 1983 Argentina endured the Dirty War, a campaign of terror and intimidation carried out by the dictatorship of the right-wing military junta against dissidents and civil society generally. To keep control, the government violently suppressed all institutions, groups, individuals, and opinions it described as “leftist.” As many as thirty thousand people, perceived as enemies of the state, simply “disappeared” and many thousands more were imprisoned in one of over three hundred “detention centers” and tortured. Up to a million and a half Argentines fled into exile. After the regime lost power, some of the military leaders were brought to trial. Testimony was poignant. One woman described how her captors made her give birth in a police car while on the way to a torture chamber. One ex-Navy officer

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said that thousands of political prisoners were sedated, loaded onto aircraft, and dumped at sea. One of the most infamous episodes, known as the “Night of Pencils,” involved the kidnapping and torture of several high school students who were abducted from their homes in September 1976 for their “subversion” in the classroom. Their crime? Campaigning for school bus fare subsidies. After the dictatorship ended some military leaders were tried and convicted, though many were later pardoned. Others received amnesty after arguing they were simply following orders; however, in 2005, Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled the amnesty laws unconstitutional, opening the door for additional prosecutions and closure for families still grieving for loved ones.

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Argentina gained its independence in 1810 and, after a chaotic process of national unification during which powerful regional caudillos fought with the emerging central government in Buenos Aires, adopted a federal system. Originally one of the poorest Spanish colonies in the Americas, by the end of the nineteenth century Argentina had become one of the world’s fastest growing economies, thanks to its wheat and corn exports. By the beginning of the twentieth century, it was the tenth-largest trading country in the world, with the sixth-highest income per head. Rapid growth led to diversification of both the economy and the society. During that time, Argentina received the largest European immigration in Latin America: approximately 4 million immigrants entered the country between 1880 and 1930. The Great Depression following the stock market crash of 1929 abruptly ended the nation’s rapid economic growth and political pluralism and introduced an era of political instability which was to last for more than five decades. The first of several military coups occurred in 1930. The outbreak of World War II (1939–1945) revived demand for Argentina’s exports. The split between those loyal to the Axis powers and those backing the Allies exacerbated domestic political tensions, however, ultimately provoking a military coup in 1943. In 1946 Colonel Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974), a former labor minister in the military government, was elected president, winning 56 percent of the vote. He nationalized most foreign-owned public services, increased state intervention in the economy and, through high levels of protectionism, fostered industrialization and urbanization at the expense of the agricultural sector.

■ ■ ■ pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

nationalization: the process of giving control or ownership of an entity to the government

P E R O N I S M A N D D I C TA T O R S H I P

A charismatic leader, Perón integrated the labor classes into the political arena; previously, only the middle classes (belonging to the Union Civica Radical, or UCR, Party) and oligarchy (members of the Conservative Party) had been represented. Under his reign, the trade unions gained significant power and became an essential part of the Peronist movement. His actions in favor of members of the working class, such as the institution of labor rights and social security, gained him their unconditional support. He also gained the backing of the industrial bourgeoisie, thanks to his protectionist trade measures and incentives for national industry. His relations with the army and the aristocracy, however, worsened steadily. Perón remained in power until his removal in 1955 by a military coup. The next three decades were characterized by political instability stemming from irreconcilable differences between the pro- and the anti-Peronist camps. The military intervened again with coups in 1962 and 1966. Perón was exiled and barred from taking part in the elections, but this exclusion weakened the legitimacy of the presidential race. In 1973 he was allowed to stand for re-election by the same groups who had ousted him, and he won the presidency for a third time. He died within a year of taking office and was succeeded by his third wife, María Estela (Isabelita) Martínez de Perón (b. 1931). She proved to be unable to stem the deterioration of the economy and labor unrest, however, and her administration was quickly discredited. In 1976, the country approached a state of anarchy, with violent confrontations taking place among right-wing paramilitary groups, leftist guerrillas, and the military. The military seized power and proclaimed martial law.

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bourgeoisie: the economic middle class marked by wealth earned through business or trade

paramilitary: modeled after a military, especially as a possible supplement to the military martial law: rule by military forces in an occupied territory or rule by military officials declared during a national emergency

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Argentina

Jorge Rafael Videla (b. 1925) was president of Argentina between 1976 and 1981. He ran the government with two military officers: General Ramón Agosti (b. 1924) and Admiral Eduardo Emilio Massera (b. 1925). Videla suspended Congress and put legislative power in the hands of only nine men; he also disbanded the courts, political parties, and unions. His government was respon■ ■ ■ sible for innumerable human rights abuses in the “Dirty War,” a program that insurgency: a rebellion against an existing had initially been intended to quell an insurgency led by two left-wing rebel authority groups but instead caused the death of thousands of civilians. The ERP (Ejército revolucionario del pueblo, or People’s Revolutionary Army) and the Peronist Montoneros, arose during the 1970s. The Montoneros, comprised of the leftist supporters of Juan Domingo Perón, supported national interests. The ERP emerged from the Partido revolucionario de los trabajadores, or Workers’ Revolutionary Party. The number of casualties—which included teachers, journalN ARGENTINA ists and intellectuals—in the Dirty War is officially said to num600 Miles 200 400 0 E W ber nine thousand, but first-hand accounts indicate that a 0 200 400 600 Kilometers much larger number of citizens disappeared, perhaps as many S as thirty thousand. The military relinquished power in 1983, BOLIVIA entirely discredited by a failing economy and the disastrous Chuquicamata Pi PARAGUAY lc om Embarcación Falklands Islands War of 1982 with Great Britain. a S

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The transition to dictatorship can be seen not as the return of democracy, but as its reconstruction on new bases, most notably that of the human rights movement that formed during the military’s rule. When elections were held in October 1983, the UCR’s Raul Alfonsín (b. 1927) won a surprise victory. Alfonsín allowed democracy to flourish, although his presidency was plagued with high inflation, a soaring national debt, labor disputes, and military discontent. Under his rule from 1983 to 1989, the government prosecuted and imprisoned many of the previous military rulers and their collaborators. Alfonsín was seen as an international symbol of human rights. Mandatory military service was abolished, expenses were restrained, and the institution’s autonomy from executive control was curbed. He had less success in stemming Argentina’s hyperinflation, however, and his failure in economic policy paved the way for the change in power in the presidential elections of 1989. Argentina’s capricious economic health set the nation’s political agenda for years into the future. Alfonsín remained involved in politics and was elected to the Senate in 2001. In 1989, a rejuvenated Partido Justicialista (PJ) won the elections. President Carlos Menem’s measures were swift but controversial. He steered the country onto a neoliberal economic path and stabilized the currency thanks to the Ley de convertibilidad, a rigid currency board that tied the Argentine peso to the dollar. State-owned industries, including the oil company and the post office, were privatized. In 1990, Menem issued a pardon for the leaders of the military government. After reaching an agreement with Alfonsín’s UCR party, he revised the constitution in 1994, thereby allowing himself to run for a second term. The next year, Menem was reelected

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triumphantly. The UCR won only 17 percent of the votes; many of its previous supporters, disappointed by the pact with the PJ, deserted the UCR party for the newly formed Frepaso (Front for a Country in Solidarity). The Frepaso Party, with a campaign based on public integrity and the defense of political institutions, finished second to the PJ. T O WA R D C R I S I S

Numerous corruption scandals marked Menem’s second term. Still, he pressured the judiciary to allow him to run for a third term after the requisite one-term hiatus. The 1999 elections saw the UCR and the Frepaso, running together as the Alliance, win the elections. Fernando De la Rúa became president. But although the first two years of De la Rúa’s term seemed deceptively calm, labor conflicts were on the rise and unemployment remained high. Poverty was eroding the middle class. In 2000 a corruption scandal erupted, and the Alliance started to disintegrate as its deputies resigned. The October 2001 legislative elections reflected the citizens’ distrust of the government. In a country where voting is mandatory, a quarter of the electorate abstained from voting. Twenty percent of those who did vote annulled their ballots. And although the PJ won the election with 37 percent of the votes, such a dispersion of the votes had never before been observed. Only 30 percent of the electorate voted for one of the two traditional parties. The president was completely discredited and the economy was in a dire situation. U.S. President George W. Bush (b. 1946) refused to renew the emergency plans to sustain Argentina in its debt payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the threat of devaluation or of default on foreign debt provoked a serious fiscal crisis. When the minister of economy decided to limit bank withdrawals, spontaneous demonstrations arose around the country, roads were blocked, and thousands of middle-class citizens took to the streets banging metal pots. The president resigned on December 20, 2001, and Argentina declared the largest default in history: $132 billion. The currency was devalued, unemployment

■ ■ ■

T H E F A L K L A N D S W A R ( O R M A LV I N A S W A R ) In 1982 Argentina, under orders from President General Leopoldo Galtieri (1926–2003), went to battle with Britain for control of the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas. The Falklands comprise two large and several small islands located east of the tip of South America. Since the sixteenth century the islands had been controlled in succession by France, Spain, Britain, Argentina, and Britain again. Britain established a lasting settlement in 1833 and its ownership had been disputed by Argentina ever since. With his country in political and economic crisis and his military dictatorship faltering, Galtieri thought seizing the islands would stir up national pride and bolster support for his ailing government.

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Argentina invaded the Falklands/Malvinas on April 2, 1982. Galtieri undoubtedly did not expect the British to attempt to retake them by force, but neither side was receptive to diplomatic efforts by third parties to avert war. Despite some delay owing to the great distance from Britain, a British task force was in place by April 21, and the British attacked. Fighting lasted until June 20 and ended with the defeat of the Argentine forces. There were approximately 250 British and 700 Argentine troops killed and a number of ships and planes lost on each side. In Argentina the loss prompted an uprising against the government and led to Galtieri’s ouster and the eventual restoration of democracy. In Britain patriotic sentiment swelled, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher enjoyed high approval ratings and a boost of confidence in her government.

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■ ■ ■ interim: for a limited time, during a period of transition

reached almost 25 percent, and more than five million Argentines fell into poverty between October 2001 and June 2002. Eduardo Duhalde (b. 1941), the very powerful ex-governor of the province of Buenos Aires, was named president after the interim president, Adolfo Rodriguez Saá, resigned. During the first half of 2002, the country teetered on the brink of chaos. More than a half million people took to the streets in more than eleven thousand demonstrations. Surveys revealed a drop in support for democracy and the rallying cry “Que se vayan todos” (“Let them all leave”), addressed to all politicians, led observers to diagnose a “representation crisis.” Duhalde eventually called for much-anticipated elections. C R I S I S O F R E P R E S E N TA T I O N

The growing discontent of Argentinians with their political representatives had been expressed by new elements of civil society. Unemployed and low-wage workers’ movements arose in the 1990s; these protesters became known as Piqueteros because of the roadblocks they staged. These labor movements outgrew the traditional Peronist and Marxist organizations, forming links with

Nicknamed “Plaza de Protestas,” the Plaza de Mayo is famous as a place of protest. Located to the east of the plaza is the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, where President Juan Perón and his wife, Eva, drew large groups of supporters for their political rallies in the late 1940s. (SOURCE: © SUSAN D. ROCK) CITIZENS RALLY IN THE PLAZA DE MAYO IN BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA.

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antiglobalization militants in Europe and North America and claiming to have a horizontal, participatory organization. The presidential election of April 2003 confirmed the dominance of the Peronist party. With three candidates—Carlos Menem, Nestor Kirchner, and Adolfo Rodriguez Saá—the party garnered 60 percent of the votes in the first round. The UCR was crushed with less than 3 percent of the vote. Abstentions and blank votes had decreased to traditional levels. Former President Menem finished first with 24 percent, followed by Kirchner with 22 percent. Because no single candidate had secured at least 45 percent of the vote, Menem and Kirchner, the governor of Santa Cruz, and two Peronists all qualified for a runoff election. When surveys predicted that Menem would lose the scheduled May 18 runoff election by a landslide, he abandoned the race, and Kirchner, the candidate who was supported by the interim government of Eduardo Duhalde, became president. Duhalde delivered the allimportant province of Buenos Aires, which contains nearly 40 percent of the national electorate. A former two-term governor, Duhalde maintained control over the Partido Justicialista’s powerful Buenos Aires political machine. Without the votes delivered by the Buenos Aires party machine, Kirchner would not have qualified for the second round. Kirchner enjoyed popular support from the start of his presidency. He adopted a moderately defiant tone toward the IMF and reinforced regional alliances. He also asserted his power over the military and reformed the province’s notoriously corrupt police. By granting extraditions and inaugurating a “Museum of the Dirty War,” Kirchner signaled his willingness to confront the vivid memories of dictatorship. Following the economic crisis that provoked increasing social inequalities and poverty, human security became a new problem in Argentina. A declaration by members of congress denounced the generalized and systematic use of torture during police investigations and the general mistreatment of detainees. The lack of action by the judicial authorities in applying appropriate measures to prevent and punish torture was also denounced. See also: Dictatorship; Political Corruption; Presidential Systems. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Argentina.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2005., . Corrales, Javier. Presidents Without Parties: The Politics of Economic Reforms in Argentina and Venezuela in the 90’s. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002. Edwards, Sebastian. The Argentine Debt Crisis of 2001–2002: A Chronology and Some Key Policy Issues. Los Angeles: University of California, 2002. Levitsky, Steven. “Argentina: From Crisis to Consolidation (and Back).” In Constructing Democratic Governance in Latin America, ed. Jorge Dominguez and Michael Shifter. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. Rock, David. Argentina, 1516–1987. Berkeley, CA: University Press, 1987. Waisman, Carlos H. Reversal of Development in Argentina. Postwar Counter revolutionary Policies and Their Structural Consequences. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987.

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Armenia

Armenia Armenia is located on the border of Europe and Asia, bounded by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey. Its area is 29,800 square kilometers (18,517 square miles) and its capital city is Yerevan. Armenia’s population of 3.2 million (according to 2003 estimates) is homogeneous: 98 percent Armenian. An additional 7 million Armenians live outside of the country—more than twice the resident population. Many members of this Armenian diaspora are descendants of refugees who fled the country during the Armenian Genocide of 1915; they continue to exert significant influence over Armenia’s economic and political processes.

■ ■ ■ homogeneous: simple; consisting of components that are identical or similar

About 94 percent of Armenians practice the Christian Apostolic faith. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 B.C.E., eleven years before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Founded in 190 B.C.E., the Armenian Kingdom expanded steadily; by 55 B.C.E. its borders stretched from the Caspian Sea in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and from Mesopotamia in the south to the Kura River in the north. In C.E. 634, Arabs invaded Armenia, finally conquering the country in C.E. 654. Armenia once again regained its independence in C.E. 886, reaching its peak in political, social, and cultural development. Near the end of the tenth century, Armenia began to weaken; Turks eventually invaded the country and annexed it in 1045. In 1080 a new Armenian Kingdom was founded in Cilicia, a region at the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, where many Armenians lived.

annex: to incorporate; to take control of politically and/or physically

Historically, Russia and the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) fought to gain control of Armenia. In 1915 the Turkish government massacred more than 1.5 million Armenians, an event that is regarded as the first genocide of the twentieth century. In the aftermath of World War I (post-1918) Armenia was briefly independent, but it soon became part of the Soviet Union. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin put the Armenian regions of Nakhidjevan and Nagorno-Karabakh under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. Most of Armenia regained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the nation has been embroiled in a conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh since 1988.

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

Levon Ter-Petrossian became the first popularly elected president of Armenia in 1991 and was reelected in 1996. He resigned in February 1998 due to lack of public support for his policies on the territorial conflict with Azerbaijan. Robert Kocharyan was elected president in March 1998 and again in March 2003. In 2002, 50 percent of the total population lived in poverty and the unemployment rate was 20 percent. Liberal reforms in the early 2000s significantly improved the economy, however: inflation decreased from 3.1 percent in 2000 to 1.1 percent in 2002; and GDP real growth rate increased from 5 percent in 2000 to 12.7 percent in 2002. As of 2005, Armenia’s continued economic development was limited by a blockade by its neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan. sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity rule of law: the principle that the law is a final grounds of decision-making and applies equally to all people; law and order

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Armenia’s constitution, adopted on July 5, 1995, declares that Armenia is a sovereign and democratic state under the rule of law and social justice with a multiparty system. Although the government is quite similar to that of France, Armenia’s president is much more powerful. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. He or she has powerful leverage over the judicial and legislative branches. The president appoints, and may dismiss, the prime minister and members of the government. He or she can also dissolve the National Assembly and designate special elections after consulting with the speaker of the National Assembly and the prime minister. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ Legislative power is vested in the unicameral National Assembly. The National unicameral: comprised of one chamber, Assembly consists of 131 deputies elected for four-year terms by a combined prousually a legislative body portional and majority system. Political blocs must win at least 5 percent of the vote in order to gain any seats in the National Assembly. The National Assembly bloc: a group of countries or individuals working toward a common goal, usually may adopt a no-confidence vote in the government by a majority vote of the total within a convention or other political body number of deputies. The National Assembly has strong formal power, but in practice it lacks the capacity to use that power. Judicial power is vested in a three-level court system and Constitutional Court, which in reality has limited power and a ARMENIA N limited role. The Constitutional Court is composed of nine 75 Miles 25 50 0 members, five of whom are appointed by the National Assembly E W and four by the president. Judges and members of the 0 25 50 75 Kilometers S Constitutional Court are appointed for life and may be removed from office only in accordance with the constitution. Although GEORGIA nominally independent, the judiciary is reportedly subject to executive pressure and corruption. Akstafa Kalinino Alaverdi Political parties in Armenia are not stable. Although there Step'anavan Ijevan Tovuz are more than 140 registered political parties, only six of them Kirovakan MT S. were represented in the 2004 National Assembly. Kumayri Dilijan The constitution declares that all citizens are entitled to AZERBAIJAN Akhta Mt. Aragats n basic rights and freedoms and are subject to the civic duties 13,419 ft. Nagorno-Karabakh 4090 m. Kamo boundary Sevana defined by the constitution and its laws. In practice, citizens’ Zod Lich Arzni Ejmiatsin rights in Armenia are not strongly protected. Voters may change Basargech'ar Yerevan Hoktemberyan Martuni Aras Garni government leadership and policies through the ballot box, but Kälbäjär Artashat Igdir electoral corruption remains a problem. Freedom House has Ararat Arpa rated Armenia as only partly free. TURKEY RC

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Sisian Goris Ghap'an

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Meghri

“Armenia.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/goes/am.html⬎.

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Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. ⬍http://www.parliament.am/ parliament.php?id=constitution&lang=eng>. Freedom House. “Armenia.” Freedom in the World 2003: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. New York: Freedom House, 2004. .

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Karatnycky, Adrian, et al., eds. Nations in Transit 2003: Democratization in East Central Europe and Eurasia. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Libaridian, Gerard. Armenia at the Crossroads. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books, 1991. Libaridian, Gerard. The Challenge of Statehood. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books, 1999. Mkrtchian, Nerses, and Bagrat Sadoyan. Armenia’s Constitution and the Separation of Powers Among the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of Government: The New System of Separation of Powers. Armenian Center for National and International Studies. ⬍http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/96–98/hovannis.pdf⬎. U.S. Department of State. “Armenia.” In Country Reports on Human Rights Practices— 2003. ⬍http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27823.htm⬎.

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Aruba

Aruba See Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Aung San Suu Kyi BURMESE POLITICAL LEADER 1945–

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region junta: a group of individuals holding power, especially after seizing control as a result of a coup nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

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Aung San Suu Kyi, like the former South African leader Nelson Mandela (b. 1918), is an international symbol of peaceful resistance to an oppressive regime that has kept her under house arrest for years and also confined her to Myanmar’s most notorious prison. In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for leadership of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, which opposed a military junta that took control of the Texas-sized country in 1988. Aung San Suu Kyi was born in the capital city of Rangoon in 1945. Her father, nationalist leader General Aung San, negotiated Burma’s independence from the British. Her mother, Daw (Ma) Khin Kyi, was a senior nurse at Rangoon General Hospital who became a prominent public figure after the assassination of Aung San in 1947. Suu Kyi was educated in India, where her mother was the Burmese ambassador, and at Oxford University in Britain. While in New York for graduate study, she worked for a time on the staff of the United Nations, then headed by Burmese Secretary General U Thant (1909–1974). In Britain, Suu Kyi met and in 1972 married Michael Aris, an Oxford Himalayan specialist and professor with whom she had two sons. The couple traveled to Bhutan, where Suu Kyi worked as a research officer in the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While raising her children, Suu Kyi initiated a career in writing and research, and in 1984 she published her father’s biography. In 1988, Suu Kyi returned to Rangoon to care for her ailing mother. In August, she began to write and speak out in support of Burma’s pro-democracy movement, which developed after the downfall of long-time military dictator General Ne Win (1911–2002). Defying a military crackdown that began in midSeptember, she formed a political party called the National League for Democracy, endorsing a policy of nonviolence and civil disobedience. She continued her political activities, speaking to large crowds around the country despite growing military harassment and a February 1989 prohibition against her running for office. In July of 1989, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest. Even so, her party won 82 percent of the popular vote in the 1990 elections, which the military regime refused to recognize. Because of her courageous opposition to Burma’s (now Myanmar’s) oppressive regime, Suu Kyi was awarded a number of international human rights prizes, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. On July 10, 1995, Suu Kyi was released from house arrest, after six years of confinement. Although her activities in Burma were still restricted by the regime, she continued to communicate with a supportive international audience. As long as Suu Kyi remained in Burma, she was an embarrassment to the government. Fearful of being denied re-entry, she declined to leave her homeland when her husband was fatally stricken with prostate cancer. Michael Aris died in 1999. In September 2000, Suu Kyi was again arrested and put under house arrest until May 6, 2002. Her freedom was short-lived. On May 30, 2003, her G O V E R N M E N T S

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As the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar), Aung San Suu Kyi has peacefully battled to end her country’s oppressive military rule. Her overwhelming victory in the election of 1990 was nullified by the existing government. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS) AUNG SAN SUU KYI SPEAKS TO FOLLOWERS.

motorcade of democratic activists was attacked in an ambush. Up to seventy people were believed to have been killed. She was arrested and, following a period of imprisonment, she was again put under house arrest. Despite international efforts to negotiate her release, as of 2005 she remains under house arrest. See also: Dalai Lama; Gandhi, Mahatma; King Jr., Martin Luther; Mandela, Nelson; Myanmar (Burma); Political Protest. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Abrams, Irwin, ed. “Aung San Suu Kyi—Biography.” In Nobel Lectures, Peace 1991–1995. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co., 1999. ⬍http://nobelprize.org/peace/ laureates/1991/kyi-bio.html⬎. Aung San Suu Kyi. Freedom from Fear, and Other Writings, 2nd ed., rev. New Delhi, India: Penguin Books, 1995. Fink, Christina. Living Silence: Burma Under Military Rule. New York: Zed Books, 2001. Victor, Barbara. The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma’s Prisoner. New York: Faber and Faber Inc., 1998.

Holly Sims

Australia

■ ■ ■ indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

ethnography: the study of the origin, characteristics, or interaction of cultures or racial groups

imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

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Australia is unique as a single nation within an island continent. For tens of thousands of years—indeed, as far back as scientific dating can reliably tell—Aboriginal peoples occupied this land. As hunters and gatherers, they lived in decentralized tribal and family structures with an oral cultural tradition. Knowledge of governance arrangements and community participation of indigenous Australians in this prehistorical epoch is fragmentary. They had elaborate kinship structures and a deeply religious view of their oneness with the land, as well as laws and practices that governed ceremonies, entitlements, marriage, land usage, and sharing natural resources. They used conservation practices in game management but were also interventionist in using fire that promoted the spread of the eucalyptus trees that define Australia’s landscape. Apart from rock paintings, ethnographic reports by European observers, and fragmentary cultural practices and stories that have survived, most knowledge of this ancient epoch relies on prehistorical sources. Modern Australian history dates from European exploration, beginning with sporadic visits by navigators in the seventeenth century. Captain James Cook (1728–1779) claimed British possession of the east coast of Australia in 1770, and the first penal settlement was established by the British at Sydney in 1788. Free settlers were encouraged, and the population grew with the spreading pastoral industries (especially wool growing, which suited a dry continent) and the gold rushes of the 1850s. The British brought with them their political culture and common law, and the early institutions of military governorship were transformed into separate democratic, self-governing colonies by the mid-nineteenth century. In this process, the Aboriginal peoples were dispossessed of their land, subdued by superior force of arms when they retaliated, decimated by European diseases and practices, and often denied basic citizenship rights. In contrast, the British and Irish settlers enjoyed one of the most progressive social and democratic regimes in the world, with a comparatively high standard of living, a security guaranteed by British imperial power, and the “tyranny of distance.” Because of their progressive democratic practices, highly paid and regulated labor markets, and extensive government provision of infrastructure, the Australian colonies, along with New Zealand, were variously considered as laboratories of democratic practice, state socialism, and a “workers’ paradise.” These descriptions were belied by the treatment of Aboriginal people, real wealth disparities, and periodic economic depressions. G O V E R N M E N T S

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CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN

Australia became a nation in 1901 when the people of the self-governing British colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia agreed to unite in “one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown.” The creation of a nation was the culmination of a decade of constitutional conventions, in which popularly elected delegates drafted a constitution that was ratified by popular referendum before being passed into law by the British parliament. The constitution preserved the separate colonies as states, with their established institutions of responsible parliamentary government adapted from Westminster, and it added a new tier of national, or commonwealth, government. In its federal system, which enumerated particular powers of the new commonwealth government while preserving the rest for the states, and in the structures of the new commonwealth government—a bicameral legislature with an equal Senate and House of Representatives and a strong judiciary that reviewed jurisdictional disputes—the Australian constitution followed the American model. It differed, however, in having a responsible government executive based in the House of Representatives and in retaining a formal monarchy. It was also more democratic, specifying a popularly elected Senate and a procedure to change the constitution by popular referendum.

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Westminster: a democratic model of government comprising operational procedures for a legislative body, based on the system used in the United Kingdom

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The Australian constitution is a hybrid of written and conventional forms. The written document specifies major institutional arrangements, such as the division of federal powers and the commonwealth’s bicameral legislature and judicature. The key institutions of executive government, including the offices of prime minister and cabinet and the rules that govern their operation, are not mentioned in the constitution at all, however; these structures are well understood and widely practiced in colonial governments. Instead, the executive chapter spells out monarchic government by the king or queen of England and his or her representative in Australia, the governor-general, in archaic formalisms that are not meant to be taken literally.

■ ■ ■ governor-general: a governor who rules over a large territory and employs deputy governors to oversee subdivided regions

The idiosyncratic complexities of the Australian constitution derive from its dual method of adoption—ratification by the people and passage by the British parliament—and its mixed modes of law and convention. Australian constitutionalism has struggled with reconciling these different principles and traditions. During more than a century of practice, the system has worked reasonably well, sustained by a vigorous political culture that grounds the diverse and, at times, conflicting elements. The constitution has provided basic political stability while allowing for substantial change. The people have been reluctant to vote for constitutional changes, however, despite numerous referendums by various commonwealth—and especially Labor—governments to increase the ruling party’s powers. Yet Australians have accepted numerous constitutional changes enacted through High Court judicial interpretation, some of which have increased federal powers.

pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

Support has been continuous for a strong national government based on responsible parliamentary government with the prime minister and cabinet drawn mainly from, and answerable to, the House of Representatives. In effect, this means dominance of the ruling party and its leader, the prime minister. Federalism also has had strong popular support, however, both for the states as quasi-independent entities and for the Senate as an independent part of the national legislature. Ever since a proportional voting system for the Senate was introduced in 1948, it has rarely been controlled by the government. Australia’s complex constitutionalism accommodates both pluralism and flexibility, enabling people and groups to support various parts of the system depending on their political views and the changing requirements of governance. High Court judges and commentators have struggled to make coherent sense of the complex system. Having been schooled in the traditions of English common law and the Westminster doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, lawyers for generations had favored the British statutory basis of the constitution. Not until the 1980s, during Anthony Mason’s (b. 1925) term as chief justice, did the High Court recognize the primacy of Australian drafting and popular ratification. The problems of interpreting a constitution of mixed legal and conventional parts came to a head in the 1975 crisis, when the opposition-controlled Senate refused to pass the budget proposed by the Labor-controlled government led by Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam (b. 1916). In the ensuing power struggle, Whitlam was dismissed from office by the governor-general, John Kerr (1914–1991). The dramatic events raised numerous constitutional questions, and each party appealed to supporting principles. Whitlam cited the basic tenet of responsible government; namely, that the party with majority support in the House of Representatives was entitled to govern. The opposition, however, claimed that the Senate had legal power to accept or reject any bills, including budgets. Both parties were technically correct. The authors of the constitution had trusted that future politicians would be able to resolve any contradictions in the

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text. Kerr’s unprecedented intervention broke the deadlock and forced an election that the Liberal coalition won. Kerr, however, was forced to resign because he had become a divisive figure, and minor parties that subsequently held the balance of power in the Senate pledged never to block the budget. The constitution remains in the same condition as the founders left it; it contains several basically incompatible parts that, if pushed to extremes, rely on sensible politicians and a restrained governor-general to be reconciled.

■ ■ ■ coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Despite its contradictions, the constitution has provided a framework for the Australian government during more than a century of practice. It has endured in part because of its incorporation of basic principles of democracy, federalism, parliamentary responsible government, and constitutional monarchism, which have ensured continuity with colonial political traditions and have preserved both the colonies and monarchic ties with Britain, while providing thoroughly democratic and robust institutions for future politics. The constitution allows for change through various mechanisms, including popular referendums and judicial review, as well as ongoing parliamentary politics and intergovernmental relations to determine citizenship issues and federal practice. The latter were especially significant, because the constitution did not include citizenship definitions or a bill of rights and had only broad formulations of the federal division of powers that were otherwise concurrent. Thus, Australia’s century of constitutional development has been characterized by both continuity and change. Referendums have been extensively used; as of 2005, forty-four proposals have been put to a popular vote, usually by Labor governments seeking to expand federal jurisdiction or to centralize power by weakening the Senate. Furthermore, many more proposals have been made but abandoned. Only eight of these referendums have passed; most of these have called for relatively minor changes, such as a seventy-year retirement age for judges or tidying up fiscal clauses. The pattern is clear: Australians are wary of ratifying proposals put forth by commonwealth governments that would centralize power in Canberra (the nation’s capital) and the House of Representatives. More significant changes to the constitution have been made by the High Court in its decisions in particular cases. Overall, the court’s interpretation has favored the commonwealth ever since the landmark Engineers case. This decision, issued in 1920, stated the commonwealth government could determine the pay and conditions of engineers employed by state organizations. The Engineers decision adopted a legalist method of interpreting the power of the head of state’s in a literal and plenary way, regardless of the impact on states’ powers. The consequence of this jurisprudence that still dominates the High Court has been the incremental growth of commonwealth power, evident in such notable cases as Uniform Tax (1942), which sanctioned the commonwealth’s monopolization of income tax, and in several 1980s cases that gave a broad interpretation of the external affairs’ power. On occasion, the High Court has curbed extreme and conservative commonwealth initiatives, most notably overruling Prime Minister Ben Chifley’s (1885–1951) Labor government’s attempts to nationalize private banks and airlines in the postwar 1940s and Robert Gordon Menzies’s (1894–1978) Liberal coalition government’s attempt to ban the Communist Party in 1950. Overall, however, the High Court’s centralist bent has been in step with the growth of the nation during the twentieth century. G O V E R N M E N T S

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judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution intergovernmental: between or involving multiple governments, with each government retaining full decision-making power

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority

legalism: strict adherence to laws plenary: complete or absolute; attended by all members or delegates to a convention jurisprudence: the body of precedents already decided in a legal system

nationalization: the process of giving control or ownership of an entity to the government

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SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE AND THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IN AUSTRALIA. The state capital of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia is a thriving economic community as highlighted by the central business district. The majestic Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973, is an historic piece of architecture and is central to the city’s success. (SOURCE: © PAUL A. SOUDERS/CORBIS)

The gradual increase of federal power in the commonwealth is confirmed by the dominant political forces and patterns of intergovernmental relations that have developed and define Australia’s rather centralized federal arrangements, especially in the fiscal area. The commonwealth retains its monopoly over income tax dating from 1942; it also has a monopoly over “excise,” which has been interpreted broadly to include indirect taxes. Hence, the goods and services tax was imposed by the commonwealth in 1960 after agreement by the states. The continuation of such a centralized system depends on sustained political will by the commonwealth and complicity by the states, which receive half their revenue from federal grants. The commonwealth government has entered many key policy areas such as education, health, and roads by distributing its abundant tax revenues in the form of tied grants to the states. The commonwealth also takes advantage of expansive judicial interpretation of its powers to play a major role in such key areas as environmental and human rights protection, by relying on the external affairs power and international agreements to which it is a party.

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Despite such centralism, the states retain primary responsibility for many of the policy areas that affect peoples’ lives, such as education, health, policing and criminal law, land and water usage, roads and transport, and public utilities. States are also responsible for local and municipal government, with state governments based in, and exercising governance over, the metropolitan cities where most Australians live. The division of real powers depends on ongoing intergovernmental politics, in which the states are clever players. CITIZENSHIP AND RIGHTS PROTECTION

The Australian constitution does not define citizenship or stipulate a bill of rights; rather, it leaves these issues to the parliaments of the commonwealth and the states to determine. A few exceptions apply to the commonwealth but not to the states, such as nonestablishment of religion and paying fair compensation for property acquired for government purposes. The constitution requires that both houses of the commonwealth’s parliament be directly elected by the people, that the number of senators be equal for each state, and that the number of members of the House of Representatives be twice that of the Senate and apportioned among the states according to their population. Nearly all of the states’ parliaments are also popularly elected bicameral legislatures, except for Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. States’ constitutions are venerable statutes of the states’ parliaments and can be changed by their members, although major changes such as restructuring the upper house would normally require a public inquiry as well as an electoral mandate. As previously mentioned, the constitution, which includes

■ ■ ■ statute: a law created by a legislature that is inferior to constitutional law mandate: to command, order, or require; or, a command, order, or requirement

■ ■ ■

ABORIGINAL RIGHTS Ever since European settlers arrived in Australia more than two hundred years ago, the country’s various indigenous peoples—collectively called Aborigines—have been fighting for their survival.

swimming in public pools, and voting. Until 1967 Aborigines were not officially considered part of the Australian population, but part of the continent’s “flora and fauna.” The welfare boards were not abolished until 1969.

Massacres and, especially, diseases to which they had no immunity, reduced Aboriginal populations by as much as 90 percent; many of those remaining were driven out of the more fertile regions into the arid interior, and, as in North America, violence followed them with the frontier. On the island of Tasmania, the indigenous people (who were ethnically distinct from mainland populations) were actually hunted to extinction. Over the years the settlers maintained a policy of government-supported discrimination. In 1867 a law was passed prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Aborigines; in the most populous colony, New South Wales, an Aborigines Protection Board was established in the late 1880s, and similar bodies were established in the rest of the country by the early twentieth century. The purpose of these “welfare” boards was to control all aspects of the Aborigine’s lives. Their policies dictated where Aborigines could live and work, hindered freedom of movement and forbade marrying without permission, eating in restaurants, entering pubs,

From 1900 Federal and state government agencies and religious welfare organizations underook the removal of light-skinned Aborigines from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into European society. Many parents “darkened” their children to save them, but tens of thousands were lost. These are known as “the lost generation.” This policy remained in effect, officially, until 1972.

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In 1962 Aborigines were granted the right to vote in national (but not state) elections, and in 1971 Neville Bonner (1922–1999) became the first Aborigine to sit in parliament. Because of past ill treatment the Australian government, in the late twentieth century, began funding programs to help the Aborigines, but the entire issue of race and rights is extremely contentious, along a familiar left-right political axis. There is also a movement among Aborigines for sovereignty, including political control of the Northern Territories and compensation for stolen land and resources.

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■ ■ ■ compulsory: mandatory, required, or unable to be avoided

the states as integral parts of “one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth” has had a radically democratic amendment clause from the beginning—changes to the constitution require a double majority of both the overall popular vote as well as a majority of the states (at least four). Hence, voting rights are at the heart of Australian federal constitutionalism and government, and elected parliaments support those rights, specifying them formally in legislation. Voting is compulsory and widely supported. The Commonwealth Electoral Commission ensures fair and fairly equal boundaries for the House of Representatives, whereas the states have their own systems that in some instances allow large discrepancies between metropolitan and country electorates. Although a world leader in some democratic voting practices (for example, women were enfranchised in South Australia in 1894 and by the Commonwealth in 1902), Australia excluded Aboriginal people from voting until 1962. The country also maintained a hard line against other “Aboriginal natives” of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, who were excluded entry by formal policy. The few Aboriginal natives who did manage to immigrate were denied voting and other basic citizenship rights. Because no defining document exists, citizenship rights are scattered throughout the various acts passed by the commonwealth and states that address individual rights, responsibilities, and entitlements, as well as being embedded in common law and ongoing traditions and practice. Identifying and cataloguing them all is a large and complex task, as is comparing Australia to countries that have defining citizenship documents and bills of rights. Although no defining bill of rights exists, individual rights are probably as well-protected in Australia’s democratic parliamentary system as in court-based bills of rights systems, with democratic rights having superior status. G L O B A L I Z AT I O N A N D F U T U R E C H A L L E N G E S

republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

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Australia’s institutions of government are likely to provide stable and flexible government into the future. Continuing political challenges will be managing economic policy, ensuring individual rights, and fostering community participation. Achieving Aboriginal reconciliation and true equality will likely remain an ongoing issue; the detention of illegal immigrants is a blot on Australia’s otherwise generous treatment of immigrants and refugees. Since the dismantling of the “white Australia” policy in the 1970s, significant diversification and continuing high levels of migration has occurred. Australian culture has become richer and more pluralistic, although not exactly multicultural, because immigrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds become assimilated into the culture by the second or third generation. Because many Australians live overseas, the country’s citizenship law was changed in 2002 to allow native-born Australians to become citizens of other countries without losing their original nationality. This law change helped to equalize citizenship status of native-born Australians with several millions of their fellow nationals, who had been born elsewhere but retained their original citizenship after adopting that of Australia. Regularizing the Australian republic by making the head of state an indigenous, non-monarchic office remains unfinished business after the defeat of the 1999 referendum. Although a majority of voters supported it, the 1999 proposal failed because large numbers of real republicans, who wanted an elected head of state, combined with monarchists in rejecting the minimalist proposal which would have changed the name of the office and allowed the prime

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minister to select the leader. Despite the defeat, many Australians continue to support an elected head of state with specified minimalist powers. Although some champion it, a bill of rights is unlikely for Australia because the political parties are deeply divided on the issue, and individual rights are reasonably well protected by the parliamentary system. Federalism is well entrenched, although further invigoration of intergovernmental reforms will be needed to facilitate the coordination of multiple governments in complex policy areas. Globalization presents ongoing challenges, although Australia has always been highly dependent on global forces and markets since it was first settled by the British. Australia’s system of multiple spheres of government makes it amenable to adding additional global regimes of rule-making and standardsetting, and its close political relations with New Zealand provide a model for transnational collaboration. See also: New Zealand.

■ ■ ■ globalization: the process of expanding regional concerns to a worldwide viewpoint, especially politics, economics, or culture

transnational: extending beyond the jurisdiction of one single nation

BIBLIOGRAPHY Blackshield, Tony, Michael Coper, and George Williams, eds. The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2001. Cane, Peter, ed. Centenary Essays for the High Court of Australia. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2004. Chesterman, John, and Brian Galligan. Citizens Without Rights: Aborigines and Australian Citizenship. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Davison, Graeme, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre, eds. The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998. Galligan, Brian. A Federal Republic: Australia’s Constitutional System of Government. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Galligan, Brian, Winsome Roberts, and Gabriella Trifiletti. Australians and Globalisation: The Experience of Two Centuries. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Galligan, Brian, and Winsome Roberts. Australian Citizenship. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2004. Hughes, Colin A., and B.D. Graham, eds. A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890–1964. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1968. Hughes, Colin A. ed. A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1965–1974. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1977. Irving, Helen. To Constitute a Nation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Lindell, G., and R. Bennett, eds. Parliament: The Vision in Hindsight. Sydney: The Federation Press, 2001. McAllister, Ian, Steve Dowrick, and Riaz Hassan, eds. The Cambridge Handbook of Social Sciences in Australia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Moon, Jeremy, and Campbell Sharman, eds. Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and the Territories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Painter, Martin. Collaborative Federalism: Economic Reform in Australian in the 1990s. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

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Reid, G. S., and Martyn Forrest. Australia’s Commonwealth Parliament 1901–1988: Ten Perspectives. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1989. Rydon, Joan. A Federal Legislature. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1986. Saunders, Cheryl. The Australian Constitution, annotated text. Melbourne: Constitutional Centenary Foundation, 1997. Uhr, John. Deliberative Democracy in Australia: The Changing Place of Parliament. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Brian Galligan

Austria ■ ■ ■ landlocked: sharing no border with a body of water

Austria is a country of Central Europe with a size of about 83,859 square kilometers (32,378 square miles). Landlocked, it is surrounded by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria’s longest river is the Danube, which is a navigable waterway connecting Austria with Germany and its neighbors in the east, as well as the Balkan states (Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia), the Black Sea, and other European coastal countries. Austria has warm, rainy summers; winter brings snow and moderately cold temperatures. This, combined with numerous mountains and forests covering two-thirds of the country’s terrain, provides the perfect atmosphere for all types of winter sports. In late 2002 Austria’s population numbered some 8.067 million people. Almost all Austrians (98%) speak German. According to the 2001 National Census, most of the country’s inhabitants were Roman Catholic, namely 5.5 million, followed by Protestants (at 376,000) and Muslims (at 339,000). The recognition of the latter as a distinct religious community may be traced back to the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, which had recognized and maintained relations with Bosnia, a predominantly Islamic country, starting in the 1870s. Other religious communities exist; for example, the Jewish community concentrated in the central area of Vienna, but their numbers are insignificant when compared to that of the three main groups. S O C I O E C O N O M I C C O N D I T I O N S A N D Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E

Austria is an affluent and prosperous country. Based on the so-called equivalized income of households, Austria ranked second among the fifteen member nations of the European Union (EU), behind Luxembourg. According to the same 2003 European Community Household Panel, the proportion of households in possession of savings was the highest among all EU countries. Austrians also have a highly developed Social Security system that remains at the disposal of every segment of the population. As a result, the proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP) spent on social services, that is, benefits for the ill and disabled, the elderly, and the unemployed, is high. BRIEF HISTORY

At the end of World War I (1918) the Danube Monarchy of the Habsburgs dissolved into a plurality of emerging states; Austria was formed from what remained. Most political forces on the Left and the Right clamored for the new

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state to become a part of greater Germany, but the Allied peace treaty signed at St. Germain forced Austria to renounce any intentions of this kind. Nevertheless, it was a fundamental burden of the First Republic that, at its outset, the majority of the Austrian population, as well as the nation’s political leaders, had significant doubts about the legitimacy and value of a separate and autonomous state. In 1920 the First Republic adopted a constitution; in 1929 it was amended to increase the power of the presidency. Many regard this period as marking the beginning of authoritarian rule. The majority of the population deemed the state of Austria to be a condition imposed by outside European nations, and the conflict soon escalated into a veritable civil war, leading to the creation of a fascist regime, the so-called Ständestaat. On March 12, 1938, Nazi troops invaded Austria and occupied the country without encountering significant resistance. Whether the majority of Austrians, in fact, supported the German Third Reich and its policies of expansionism and anti-Semitism that led to the cataclysm of World War II (1939–1945) remains a highly controversial subject, but certainly most did not foresee the disastrous consequences of the German advance into Austria. At World War II’s end and after the collapse of national socialism, the Allied forces reinstated the nation of Austria according to various resolutions (e.g., the Memorandum of Moscow). Toward this end, a provisional government was installed; it was headed by Karl Renner (1870–1950) who later became Austria’s first president. Initially, the Allied powers (France, Great Britain, the United States, and the USSR) occupied the territory, dividing it into military zones. Because of full Allied participation in a Control Council with supreme authority, this division did not end up jeopardizing Austrian national unity. On May 15, 1955, after almost a decade of negotiations, the Austrian government under Bundeskanzler (Prime Minister) Julius Raab (1891–1964)

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socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

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■ ■ ■ authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

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BRUNO KREISKY (1911–1990) Bruno Kreisky served as chancellor of Austria from 1970 to 1983 and was the first Jewish politician to lead Austria. Under Kreisky’s leadership Austria made great strides in the area of human rights. His government reformed family law and decriminalized abortion and homosexuality, angering some of the country’s Catholic majority. Although he was born into a wealthy family, Kreisky was aware of the poverty around him and joined the youth wing of the Austrian Social Democratic Party before studying law at the University of Vienna. His political affiliation landed him in jail in the 1930s when his party was outlawed by the Fascist Dollfuss government, and after Nazi troops invaded Austria in 1938, Kreisky fled to Sweden.

■ ■ ■

Kreisky returned after the war and worked in Austria’s Foreign Affairs department before being elected to parliament in 1956. By 1967 Kreisky was chairman of the Socialist Party and was elected chancellor in 1970. As a hard-nosed Socialist, Kreisky took an interest in labor laws and expanded employee benefits, cut the workweek to forty hours, and pushed through legislation granting equality for women. An opponent of Zionism, he attempted to mediate between the Israelis and the Palestinians, without much success. Kreisky’s legacy remains unclear. Some Austrians remember him as a champion of human rights, while others deplore the mass amounts of money he spent on his social programs.

concluded a treaty with the Allies. Ordering the complete restoration of Austrian sovereignty, this Treaty of Vienna went into effect when foreign military forces completely departed from Austrian territory. A precondition for the realization of sovereignty was Austria’s declaration of permanent neutrality, a status which had to be mandated by constitutional law and formally communicated to the international community. Austria followed the Swiss model of legally binding neutrality, but did deviate by directly petitioning the United Nations (UN) for member-nation status at the same time. Austria’s rise as an international actor occurred mainly in the 1970s and is in many ways associated with Bruno Kreisky (1911–1990), Bundeskanzler from 1970 to 1983. After a brief membership in the European Free Trade Association, Austria joined the EU in 1995.

sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity neutrality: the quality of not taking sides, as in a conflict

N AT U R E O F G OV E R N M E N T

Apart from the interval between 1933 and 1945, Austria has remained a federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently figurehead: an individual with a title of leadership, but no real authority or power

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federal, democratic, parliamentarian republic with a president as head of state

since its constitution was adopted in 1920. Since 1929 the president has been elected directly by popular vote for a six-year term in office; he or she enjoys considerable authority and does not serve as a mere figurehead. Above all, it is the president’s duty to designate the federal government, which includes the Bundeskanzler, ministers, and various secretaries of state. In addition, he or she is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Presidents of the Second Republic have included Karl Renner (1870–1950), Adolf Schärf (1890–1965), Franz Jonas (1899–1974), Rudolf Kirchschläger (1915–2000), Kurt Waldheim (b. 1918), Thomas Klestil (1932–2004), and Heinz Fischer (b. 1938). Despite the strong authority of the president, Austria, as opposed to France or the United States, is not an executive-style government. It is best characterized as a parliamentarian republic, with the German Weimar Republic of the 1920s serving as its model. Furthermore, the Austrian Republic is a federation. There are nine federal states of differing size, namely Burgenland, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna.

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It is no surprise that the capital city of Vienna functions as a federal state. It is a densely populated urban center; at the Second Republic’s formation, approximately one-third of the Austrian population was concentrated within it. Vienna’s inclusion may also be viewed as a shrewd political solution, intended to strike a balance between an urban and predominantly leftist populace in the metropolitan region and a rural and overwhelmingly conservative populace in the periphery. Austria’s federal states maintain their own separate governments, headed by a governor and state parliaments. They conduct the major portion of their administrative agendas directly or indirectly. L E G I S L AT I O N

The federal parliament in Austria is called Nationalrat; since 2003 it has consisted of 183 members. Its main responsibilities include enacting legislation, which requires a two-thirds majority, and basic alterations to the constitution. More extensive revisions of the constitution require a popular referendum. The Austrian parliament, like many other parliaments throughout the world, consists of two chambers: Besides the Nationalrat, a second chamber called the Bundesrat primarily serves the interests of the federal states. The authority of this second chamber in the legislative process is relatively weak compared with that of other two-chamber systems, for example, those in Italy or Germany. The Bundesrat can veto legislative acts of the first chamber, but only in terms of temporarily suspending them. And the Nationalrat may then later overrule this veto. Such an ineffectual position helps explains the recurrent public debate about the necessity and usefulness of a second chamber.

■ ■ ■ referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

POLITICAL LIFE

As of 2004, four political parties were represented in the Austrian parliament: the Austrian People’s Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, or OVP), which dominated the Bundeskanzler; the Social Democrats (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPO); the Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, or FPO); and the Green Party (Die Grünen). Smaller political groups do exist, including the Liberal Forum and the Communist Party. However, despite the few seats these parties may hold in communal councils, as a whole, they have little real impact. The roots of the two major parties, the OVP and the SPO, date back far into the times of the earlier Austrian monarchy. The FPO, on the other hand, did not exist prior to 1956; it arose out of a right-wing movement seeking national consolidation. The Green Party is the youngest of all parliamentarian parties, having evolved from various environmental movements in the late twentieth century. In this context, the political parties within Austria more or less resemble the political spectrum of other European countries (e.g., Germany, Italy, or France) with whom they have formed respective alliances in the European Parliament. The OVP, in the early twenty-first century the party with the most seats in parliament, conceives of itself as falling within the middle of the political spectrum, so one could thus characterize it as a Center-Right party. The OVP is also connected to Christian Democrats and the Conservative Party, and, in keeping with its political programs, it has maintained close links with the Roman Catholic Church (although the Church has increasingly adopted a position of neutrality in political matters), landowners, and corporate interest groups. In

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addition, the OVP has forged important bonds with Austria’s labor groups, including its trade union movement.

■ ■ ■ ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others populist: someone who advocates policies for the advancement of the common man

The SPO represents the Austrian wing of the workers’ movement in Europe and elsewhere. It is the major party most strongly connected to the trade unions. Since Kreisky’s era, the SPO has steered a rather pragmatic course free of ideology that differs less and less from that of its political opponents. The SPO has thus moved to the middle of the political spectrum and incarnates a Center-Left party. The FPO has adopted political programs that are often described as a mixture of German nationalism and populism, and in this sense, it may be considered a right-wing alternative to the older parties. Under the leadership of Jörg Haider (b. 1950), it has managed to attract a significant portion of the electorate in the lower classes, traditional adherents of socialism, and even to temporarily overtake the OVP’s dominance in parliament during the late 1990s. This was a result of general discontent that had spread among the population after years of fruitless collaboration between Austria’s dominant parties. The Green Party evolved from the ecological movement; it has attempted to address, or put the focus on, important environmental topics. It has proved to be an attractive option for young people, particularly those within academic circles.

coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

welfare state: a political state that assumes liability for the wellbeing of its people through government-run social programs

Since 2000 Austria has been ruled by a so-called Small Coalition government formed by the OVP and FPO and headed by Bundeskanzler Wolfgang Schüssel (b. 1945). Previous to that, the predominant form of political regimes had been the Great Coalition, which involved the collaboration of the OVP and SPO. Such cooperation is typical of Austrian politics. This system, officially called the Social Partnership, does not apply to the political arena alone. It plays a role in the social and economic sectors as well and has found the support of corporate players and unions alike. It evolved from the existence of unified labor unions that were able to negotiate and then execute agreements with economic leaders. The Social Partnership, increasingly viewed by some in the early twenty-first century as a source of societal paralysis, in fact, offered countless advantages and opportunities in post–World War II Austria. In the West, Austria was one of those rare countries that almost never experienced industrial strikes. Both the Great Coalition and the Social Partnership have put their stamp on the country. The main objective of Schüssel’s Center-Right government, supported by corporate groups and most mass media, has been to extinguish the tracks of previous policy and reduce the alleged growth of a welfare state. The last vestiges of the Social Partnership have not disappeared altogether, but it has receded into the background. Simultaneously, strikes and other forms of industrial unrest have become more frequent. DIVISION OF POWERS

The division of powers embodied in the Austrian constitution differs somewhat from the classical model of checks and balances. Austria follows a steplike hierarchical arrangement. The legislature is pre-eminent because of its exclusive authority to create and enact laws. The judiciary stands on equal footing with the executive branch insofar as both are conceived of as executors of law and are therefore strictly bound by acts of legislation. Courts are by no means entrusted with the power to control legislative outcomes or even abrogate

hierarchy: a group of people ranked according to some quality, for example, social standing

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them. To fill this gap, Hans Kelsen (1881–1973), the principal architect of the Austrian constitution, established a special constitutional court to act as “guardian of the constitution.” Ordinary courts consisting of lower and higher courts retain jurisdiction in civil and penal matters. However, these ordinary courts do not have jurisdiction over administrative actions. A separate court, the Verwaltungsgerichtshof, had been mandated to deliberate on such matters. Under heavy caseloads and increasing delays, the jurisdiction of this court became more and more precarious. A 1988 constitutional amendment subsequently set up administrative tribunals in the federal states to improve legal protection.

■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised deliberate: to present contradicting arguments and choose a common course of action based upon them, or, characterized by such careful discussion

R I G H T S A N D L I B E RT I E S

Austria has signed and ratified virtually all international declarations, conventions, and pacts concerning human rights. The nation’s constitution catalogs civil rights and liberties such as personal freedom and freedom of speech. In the early twenty-first century discussions about reformulating the Austrian constitution have addressed the possible inclusion of social rights in this document.

ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

AUSTRIANS RALLY AT THE HOFBURG IMPERIAL PALACE IN VIENNA IN OPPOSITION OF THE COALITION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE’S PARTY (OVP) AND THE FREEDOM PARTY (FPO). In 2000 the FPO and the OVP formed a coalition when no majority party emerged from the October 1999

parliamentary elections. The coalition is still intact but the FPO’s popularity has waned, as underscored by the April 2005 organization of the “Alliance for the Future of Austria.” (SOURCE: © CORBIS)

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There have been problems in applying the law of conventions and declarations to which Austria is party. For example, the application of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is problematic when it comes to the legal treatment of asylum-seekers and their children. On the recommendation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, in 1999 Austria established a council for human rights consisting of eleven members whose independence is constitutionally guaranteed. Thanks to the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International, the Austrian public has now become highly sensitive to human rights issues. See also: European Union; Germany; Kelsen, Hans. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hagen, Johann J. “Austria.” In Legal Systems of the World. A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Hausmaninger, Herbert. The Austrian Legal System. Boston, MA: Kluwer Law International, 2000. Luther, Kurt Richard, and Peter Pulzer, eds. Austria 1945–95: Fifty Years of the Second Republic. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 1998. Sully, Melanie A. Political Parties and Elections in Austria. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981. Sully, Melanie A. A Contemporary History of Austria. London: Routledge, 1990. Wodak, Ruth, and Anton Pelinka, eds. The Haider Phenomenon in Austria. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2002.

Johann J. Hagen

Azerbaijan

■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

secularism: a refutation of, apathy toward, or exclusion of all religion

absolute: complete, pure, free from restriction or limitation

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Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea on the east, Russia on the north, Georgia and Armenia on the west, and Iran on the south. Its total area is about 86,600 square kilometers (33,425 square miles), and the capital city is Baku. The total population of Azerbaijan was estimated at 7.8 million in 2003. Administratively, Azerbaijan is divided into fifty-nine regions and eleven cities. The majority of the people are Muslim. Azerbaijan’s per capita income in 2003 was estimated to be $3,400; 49 percent of the total population was below the national poverty line, the literacy rate was 96 percent, infant mortality was 82.7 per 1,000 live births, and the unemployment rate was 16 percent. Azerbaijan is rich in oil reserves. A former member republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), Azerbaijan became an independent presidential republic on August 30, 1991, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic was adopted on November 12, 1995, and significantly amended in August 2002. According to the constitution, Azerbaijan is a democratic, secular, and unitary republic. Although the constitution requires executive, legislative, and judicial powers to jointly cooperate and be independent within the framework of their authority, Azerbaijan’s presidency is quite strong, and the legislative and judicial branches have only limited independence. Indeed, the president has been described as a heavy-handed, near absolute ruler. G O V E R N M E N T S

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The executive power in Azerbaijan is vested in the president of the republic, the prime minister, and cabinet of ministers. The president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term. The prime minister and first deputy prime ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly. The president of Azerbaijan in 2005 was Ilham Aliyev (b. 1961), who was first elected on October 15, 2003, after the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev (1923–2003), who had ruled nearly single-handedly since June 1993. Presidential elections in Azerbaijan have frequently been described as unfair and not free; election rigging has been alleged. AZERBAIJAN 100 Miles 50 0 The legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, which consists of 125 deputies elected for five-year terms. Caspian 0 50 100 Kilometers National Assembly members were elected on November 4, 2000. CA Sea UC T'Bilisi Deputies are elected based on majority and proportional voting RUSSIA AS US systems and general elections. The New Azerbaijan Party is the GEORGIA Balakän MT Khachmaz Zakataly most popular political party in Azerbaijan, holding 108 out of Quba S. Shäki Akstafa 125 seats in the National Assembly. The remaining seventeen Mt. Bazar Dyuzi Ku 14,652 ft. ra Mingachevir 4466 m. seats are divided among six other parties. Yerevan Tovuz Gyanja Reservoir Mingachevir (Kirovabad) Sumqayyt Judicial power is implemented through the Constitutional ARMENIA K U Göychay Yevlakh RA Sevana LO Court, Supreme Court, an economic court, and ordinary and Baku Bärdä WL SE Lich A NagornoR Apsheron K u NDS specialized law courts. The constitution provides for an indeKarabakh Aghjabädi ra CA Peninsula UC Agdam pendent judiciary, but little evidence exists that the Azerbaijan AS Alyat Stepanakert Ali Bayramly US Salyan judiciary is, in fact, independent. Shakhbus as Ar Pushkin Citizen rights do not appear to be respected or protected in Nakhichevan Azerbaijan. Freedom House rated it in 2003 as a “partly free” TA Länkäran nation, assigning it a score of 6 for political rights and 5 for civil Ahar Astara rights and liberties on a descending scale from 1 to 7. Moreover, Khvoy I R A N the situation appears to be getting worse. The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, Azerbaijan and it specifically outlaws press censorship. The government often restricts these rights in practice, however, and the government’s human rights record is relatively poor. In addition, N the constitution also gives citizens the right to change the E W government by peaceful means. The government often restricts this ability as well, by interfering in local and national S elections. TS

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See also: Russia. BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Azerbaijan.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html⬎. Freedom House. Nations in Transit 2002: Civil Society, Democracy, and Markets in East Central Europe and the Newly Independent States. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2002. Freedom House. “Azerbaijan.” Freedom in the World 2003. New York: Freedom House, 2003. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2003/countryratings/ azerbaijan.htm⬎. United Nations. Azerbaijan Country Information. ⬍http://www.un-az.org/couinf.htm⬎.

Lucy Dadayan

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The seven hundred islands of the Bahamas extend from about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) off the coast of Florida on the northwest to near Cuba on the southeast. The islands’ population in 2002 was 310,000—85 percent of which is of African heritage. Almost two-thirds of the residents live on New Providence Island, where the Bahamian capital of Nassau is located. The original people of the Bahamas were the Arawak. Columbus made his first landing in the Bahamas, and the Spanish transported many of the Arawak to work in mines in Hispaniola and Cuba, where most of them perished. The first permanent settlement of Europeans was a group of English settlers who organized a community in 1647. The Bahamas became a British Crown Colony in 1717. Bahamians gained self-governing status in 1964 and full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1973. As a member of the commonwealth, the Bahamas recognizes the Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) as head of state and the governor-general, Dame Ivy Dumont (b. 1930), as the Queen’s representative. Prime Minister Linden Pindling (1930–2000) of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) governed the Bahamas for more than twenty-five years, winning six successive elections. Following allegations of corruption under PLP rule, the reformist Free National Movement (FNM) took office in 1992 under the leadership of Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham (b. 1947). The FNM lost power to the PLP in elections held in 2002, and the PLP’s Perry Gladstone Christie (b. 1943) was elected to the office of prime minister. The Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Program ranks the Bahamas fifty-first of 177 countries rated. The Bahamian gross domestic product per capita ranked thirty-fifth of 177 countries. The HDI rating contrasts with that of Barbados, the best performer in Latin America and the Caribbean, which ranks twenty-ninth on the HDI. The literacy race for the entire Bahaman population is above 95 percent. Tourism provides about 60 percent of the gross domestic product, followed by banking (15%), manufacturing (3%), and agriculture and fisheries (2%). The United States purchases about 50 percent of Bahamian products and services. G O V E R N M E N T S

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per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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■ ■ ■

The constitution of the Bahamas provides for a parliamentary government on the Westminster model. The cabinet, consisting of at least nine ministers including the prime minister, controls the executive branch. The parliament is bicameral, consisting of an elected House of Assembly (forty members) and an appointed Senate (sixteen members). Ministers must be sitting members either bicameral: comprised of two chambers, of the House of Assembly or of the Senate, although the Senate is limited to usually a legislative body three members in the cabinet. Members of the House of Assembly are elected from single-member constituencies for five-year terms. The sixteen members of the Senate are appointed by the governor-general, nine on advice of the prime minister, four on advice of the leader of the opposition, and three upon consultation of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. The chief justice of the Bahamian Supreme Court is appointed by the governor-general on advice of the prime minister, and the remaining justices are appointed by the governor-general on advice of a judicial commission. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom handles appeals of last resort. The Bahamas continues to face serious issues from drug-related crime and from money laundering through its offshore financial system. As a result, the money laundering: to cause illegally obtained money to appear legitimate by government has been pressured by the U.S. government to combat this probmoving or converting it lem, although relations with the United States began to improve during the early 2000s. Political, religious, and academic freedom are generally respected. Non-governmental organizations and trade unions are free from governmental interference. Violent crime is a matter of continuing concern, however, and it has been reported BAHAMAS that violence against women is a serious problem. Westminster: a democratic model of government comprising operational procedures for a legislative body, based on the system used in the United Kingdom

50

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Barrow-Giles, Cynthia. Introduction to Caribbean Politics. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 2002. Griffith, Ivelaw Lloyd. Drugs and Security in the Caribbean: Sovereignty Under Siege University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997.

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Bahrain Bahrain is an archipelago lying between the east coast of Saudi Arabia and the Qatar Peninsula. Made up of some thirty-six islands—the biggest of which is Bahrain Island, where the capital of Manama is located—Bahrain’s total area is 706 square kilometers (273 square miles). Bahrain has a population of 724,000, and 85 percent of the residents live in cities. Foreigners make up one-third of the population and more than half of the labor force. Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni Muslim family even though its population is predominantly

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Shia Muslim. Although most of Bahrain is desert, some areas in the north are cultivable. Bahrain remained under Portuguese control in the 1500s and Persian rule in the 1600s. In 1783 Ahmed Bin Mohammed al-Khalifa (d. 1796)—known as Ahmad bin Mohammed al-Fateh (the conqueror)—invaded Bahrain and ■ ■ ■ brought it under Arab control. With al-Khalifa’s rule, the country became protectorate: a territory or country under a British protectorate. It remained so until it gained its independence on the protection of another sovereign August 14, 1971. Following the 1961 death of Sheikh Salman bin Hamad country’s military al-Khalifa, his son, Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, acceded to power, becoming emir: a ruler in a country with a government the first emir of the country. After his death on March 6, 1999, his eldest son based on Islamic religious beliefs Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa succeeded him. Sheikh Hamad’s son, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Isa al-Khalifa, became Bahrain’s crown prince. Bahrain’s economy is dominated by the government, BAHRAIN which has encouraged a number of industries and service 8 Miles 2 4 6 0 sectors other than those exploiting oil and natural gas, for the purpose of diversifying it. With a life expectancy of seventy-four 0 2 4 6 8 Kilometers years of age, Bahrain’s citizens enjoy a high gross domestic Jazirat ¯ al Muharraq ¸ product per capita (GDP) of approximately U.S.$15,000. Al Qalali ¯¯ Al Muharraq ¸ Persian Gulf During Emir Isa’s rule, Bahrain adopted its first constituManama tion in 1973. This constitution called for the election of a Ad Diraz ¯ Al Hadd ¸ National Assembly, but the emir dissolved this body in 1975. Al Budayyi' Al Jufayr After Bahrainis indicated overwhelming support for it in a 2001 Jidd Hafs ¸ ¸ Jiddah Mina Salmon referendum, a new constitution was adopted in 2002. It provided for the transformation of Bahrain from an emirate into a Marquban ¯ ¯ Umm an monarchy ruled by a king, and guaranteed women the right to ¯ Na'san Sitrah vote and hold public office. Karzakkan ¯ Al Rifa' ¯ ash Sharqi Bahrain is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, in which Al Malikõyah ¯ ¯ the king is the chief of state and head of government. He 'Awalõ ¯¯ appoints the prime minister who, after consultation with the 'Askar Az Zallaq ¯ king, appoints a Council of Ministers. The parliament is a Ra's Hayyan ¸ Jabal ad Dukhan ¯ bicameral legislative body, with a higher chamber, the 400 ft. 122 m. Consultative Council, and a lower chamber, the Chamber of Jaww Deputies. The legislative branch is not truly free of the Ad Dur ¯ monarch’s control, as he maintains the power to ratify all legislation approved by the parliament before it becomes law and Ar Gulf Rumaythah appoints the forty members of the Consultative Council. The Al Mamtalah ¸ of forty members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected by the people. Elections for the Chamber of Deputies took Bahrain place in 2002 and witnessed 50 percent voter turnout. The citizens also elect municipal governments: Bahrain is divided into twelve municipalities, administered and controlled from Manama by a central municipal council whose members are Ra's al Barr appointed by the king. In addition, the king maintains control over the judiciary: He chairs the Higher Judicial Council, which N supervises the court system (both the civil and Shari’a, or E W Islamic law, courts) and appoints judges based on the council’s Bahrain proposals. S Bahraini citizens can voice their opinions through limited participation in the political process and at the public meetings held by the king. The government continues to restrict citizens’ rights in a number of ways: It bans political parties; imposes restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of the press; (MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP) G O V E R N M E N T S

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restricts freedoms of assembly and association; imposes some limits on freedom of religion; and monitors its citizens’ e-mail and Internet use. See also: Shari’ a. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Bahrain.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ba.html⬎. Bahrain Government Homepage. ⬍http://www.bahrain.gov.bh⬎. Clark, Angela. Bahrain Oil and Development: 1929–1989. Boulder, CO: International Research Center for Energy and Economic Development, 1990. Mohammed, Nadeya Sayed Ali. Population and Development of the Arab Gulf States: The Case of Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003. Nakhleh, Emile A. Bahrain: Political Development in a Modernizing Society. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1976. U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. ⬍http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27925.htm⬎.

Amal I. Khoury

Bangladesh

■ ■ ■ sect: a group of people with a common distinctive view of religion or doctrine

nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

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With the Bay of Bengal at its south and India wrapped around it, Bangladesh has only approximately 144,000 square kilometers (89,424 square miles) to accommodate its 141 million people (based on a July 2004 estimate). Its literacy rate is 43 percent. Ninety-eight percent of its people are Bengalis. Though the nation was initially ruled for centuries by Hindu and Buddhist leaders, Muslims invaded India and in the thirteenth century gained power in the area that became modern-day Bangladesh. Islam was spread throughout the region, however, not by the rulers but by the mystic Sufi saints. At present, Muslims account for 83 percent of the population. The remaining people of Bangladesh are Hindus, with very small populations of Christians, Buddhists, and other sects. Although located on fertile soil provided by the Ganges delta, these flood-prone lands have resulted in high levels of poverty. The territory that became Bangladesh was originally part of British colonial India. In 1947, Great Britain partitioned India into two independent states on the basis of religion: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. But the Bengali Muslims who were part of Pakistan started a nationalist movement in the early 1950s, culminating in the birth of Bangladesh in 1971. The emergence of Bangladesh was the first instance in the postcolonial period of an ethnic-linguistic nationalist movement succeeding in creating a new state. Its independence was finally achieved through a bloody war and not constitutional negotiations. The Bengali nationalist party, the Awami League (AL), and its leadership staked its claim to legitimacy on the constitutional grounds that the party had won a majority victory in the 1970 national and provincial elections in Pakistan, but had been denied power by the ruling elite who launched an armed attack and unleashed genocide on the Bengalis. In the decades since independence, democratically elected leaders as well as strong presidents and military dictators have ruled Bangladesh. The constitution, which was adopted in 1972, has frequently been amended to accommodate these changes in the political system. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Bangladesh began its constitutional journey on April 10, 1971. An ad hoc constitution vested all power in the president, but the president and undisputed leader of the nationalist movement, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Rahman (1920–1975), was then being held in a Pakistani prison. Real executive power was therefore exercised by the prime minister, Tajuddin Ahmed (1925–1975), who ran a de facto government modeled on a parliamentary system. ■ ■ ■ On January 11, 1972, the day after his release from prison, Sheikh Mujib, as socialism: any of various economic and the president, issued a provisional constitutional order, stipulating a unitary political theories advocating collective or parliamentary form of government. He stepped down as president to become governmental ownership and administration prime minister and the effective head of a parliamentary government. In of the means of production and distribution of goods December 1972, Bangladesh adopted its constitution, which declared the country a people’s republic committed to four guiding principles of state: secularism: a refutation of, apathy toward, democracy, nationalism, socialism, and secularism. The constitution provided for or exclusion of all religion a British-style parliamentary form of government with a sovereign parliament, chief executive power vested in a prime minister responsible to parliament, and the largely ceremonial office of president. Following the model of a parliamentary sysBHUTAN BANGLADESH tem, no separation of powers existed between the legislative, 100 Miles 50 0 executive, and judicial branches of the government. The justices 0 50 100 Kilometers of the higher courts were to be appointed by the president. Fundamental rights and freedoms were guaranteed, with certain maputra ah st a Saidpur restrictions imposed under emergency provisions. National I N D I A Rangpur elections were to be held every five years for three hundred Dinajpur ¯ general seats. Fifteen seats were reserved for women to be Shilong Plateau Jaipurhat ¯ elected indirectly by the general members of parliament. Sur Jamalpur ¯ m Sylhet Bogra a To ensure the stability of government, it was decided that memBrah Mymensingh At r ai G bers of parliament would lose their seats if they voted against an ges Rajshahi ¯ ¯ their party or changed party affiliation. Amendment procedures Sirajganj ¯ were simple: by a two-thirds majority vote, parliament could Pabna ¯ na amend the constitution. Kushtia M Brahmanbaria ¯ ¯ m Dhaka a Narayanganj ¯ ¯ A national election held in March 1973 gave the AL a fresh Farõdpur ¯ INDIA Comilla mandate to rule the country. Soon afterwards, however, as Chandpur ¯ the government faced mounting criticism, a schism developed Jessore Noakhali ¯ ¯ within the AL as to how to best respond to the opposition. While Rangamati ¯ ¯ ¯ Khulna Barisal ¯ the older, moderate leaders urged continuation of multiparty Karnaphuli Chalna Patuakhali ¯ democratic rule, a group of young militant leaders called for the Chittagong Resevoir s n Keakradang establishment of a revolutionary government under Sheikh rba 4,034 ft. Sunda 1230 m. Mujib. Mujib finally decided to pursue the course suggested by the young militants. Taking advantage of his party’s two-thirds anges Cox’s f the G ¯ ¯ Bazar M o u ths o majority in parliament, Sheikh Mujib and the AL altered the constitution in January 1975. The fourth amendment introduced a one-party presidential form of government, with restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms, and an independent judiciary. Bay of Sheikh Mujib was proclaimed the president, but he and some Bengal members of his extended family were assassinated in a military coup on August 15, 1975. m

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The junior officers who killed Sheikh Mujib installed one of Mujib’s colleagues, Khondoker Mushtaq Ahmed, as president. He pledged support for the constitution and the four guiding G O V E R N M E N T S

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principles of state ideology. Mushtaq was overthrown in a military coup launched by senior military officials on November 3, 1975. They named Chief Justice Abusadat Muhammad Sayem (1916–1997) as president and chief martial law administrator. However, the leaders of the November 3 coup were killed in a counter coup on November 7, which brought forward Ziaur (Zia) Rahman (1936–1981) as the new chief of staff of the army and strongman of the country. REGIME OF ZIAUR R AHMAN

Initially, Zia retained Sayem as president and chief martial law administrator while he exercised power from behind the scenes. After a year, however, on November 30, 1976, Zia became the chief martial law administrator, and on April 21, 1977, he secured the presidency when Sayem abruptly resigned, citing ill health. Twenty-four hours after officially assuming power, through a martial law ordinance, Zia introduced yet another fundamental amendment to the constitution. Two of the four guiding principles of state ideology were changed. Secularism was dropped and replaced with “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah” and socialism was reinterpreted to mean “social justice.” A series of elections were then held under martial law. Bans on political parties were withdrawn. Zia himself floated his own political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), composed of members from both the Left and Right. The BNP won the parliamentary election of 1979. Martial law was ended. The Zia regime continued its rule for two more years. On May 30, 1981, Ziaur Rahman was assassinated by a group of army officers.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

REGIME OF HUSSAIN MOHAMMAD ERSHAD

factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

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The army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Hussain Mohammad Ershad (b. 1930), soon pledged his loyalty to the BNP government. The civilian vice president under Zia, Abdus Sattar (1906–1985), became president and ordered a new election, which he subsequently won. However, factionalism within the BNP and Sattar’s advanced age made the government vulnerable. General Ershad demanded an institutionalized role for the military in governing the country. Sattar initially rejected the notion, but under pressure from the military he finally agreed to establish a national security council, composed of the president, vice president, prime minister, and chiefs of the three military services. This did not satisfy the military, however, and, after months of rumor about an impending coup, Ershad declared martial law on March 24, 1982, suspended the constitution, dismissed Sattar and his cabinet, dissolved parliament, abolished political parties, and became the chief martial law administrator, with the navy and air force chiefs named as his deputies. Ershad ruled the country under martial law for another four years. Following in Zia’s footsteps, Ershad eventually civilianized his military regime, holding a series of elections under martial law and floating a political party, the Jatiya Party ( JP), with state patronage. Local government elections were held in 1984, a national referendum in 1985, and parliamentary and a presidential elections in 1986. BNP boycotted the 1986 parliamentary election, in which the AL participated. In a state-controlled election, Ershad’s JP won the majority. Despite becoming civilians, the Ershad regime continued to face popular movements against its rule; this resistance gained additional momentum in 1987. To seek a new mandate, Ershad called another parliamentary election in 1988. This time both the BNP and AL boycotted the election. The new JP-led parliament passed the eighth constitutional amendment on June 7, 1988; it declared Islam as the state religion. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■

SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN (1921–1975) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known as Sheikh Mujib, is widely regarded as the founding father of Bangladesh, which he helped deliver from Pakistani rule. He served as Bangladesh’s first prime minister. When Sheikh Mujib was born, his province, which later became Bangladesh, was considered part of the Raj (the Indian subcontinent) and was therefore under British rule. England pulled out of the subcontinent in 1947, and India and Pakistan (which encompassed western and eastern provinces) emerged as independent nations. Sheikh Mujib got involved in politics around this time because he wanted his East Pakistani people to have autonomy from Pakistan.

To work toward this goal, he founded the Awami League in 1949. Sheikh Mujib was jailed several times over the next two decades for his political activity. When his people finally gained independence by defeating the Pakistani army in December 1971, Sheikh Mujib was in jail. He returned in 1972, becoming leader of the newly created country of Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib’s victory was short-lived, however. He was unable to set up a stable government that pleased the masses, and on August 15, 1975, Sheikh Mujib was killed in a coup staged by military leaders.

This growing tilt toward Islam could not stem the tide of a popular movement against Ershad. Civil society, particularly professional associations, cultural societies, and women’s organizations, actively participated in the movement. The student wings of the BNP and AL united, thus bringing together the nation’s two largest parties in cooperation against the government. Senior leaders of the military withdrew their support of Ershad, and he resigned on December 4, 1990, handing over administration to Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed (b. 1930), who was chosen by the political opposition to act as president of a caretaker government that would oversee a free and fair election. For the first time in Bangladesh, a regime was forced from power not through a bullet but through a citizens’ movement. R E T U R N O F PA R L I A M E N TA R Y D E M O C R A C Y: G O V E R N M E N T O F K H A L E DA Z I A

The caretaker government of Shahabuddin Ahmed organized a nationwide election, which was perceived as free and fair. The BNP, led by Khaleda Zia (b. 1945), won the election and on March 20, 1991, formed a government with the support of the Islamist party, the Jamaat-I-Islami. After the election, in a rare show of bipartisan spirit, both the BNP and AL worked together to pass the twelfth amendment to the constitution on August 6, 1991, which reintroduced a parliamentary form of government. The president became the ceremonial head of state, to be elected by parliament, and the prime minister became the true executive responsible to parliament. The initial constructive engagement between the AL and BNP broke down within two years. Both parties clashed, often violently, over several municipal and parliamentary by-elections (special elections held to fill a vacancy). The AL, alleging election fraud by the BNP in a parliamentary by-election, demanded the resignation of the government, requesting a new national election to be held under a neutral caretaker government. Other parties in parliament, including the Jatiya Party and Jamaat-I-Islami, supported the AL’s demand. The country was repeatedly shut down by strikes. Finally, the opposition parties led by the AL resigned from parliament in December 1994. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ neutrality: the quality of not taking sides, as in a conflict

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■ ■ ■ bureaucracy: a system of administrating government involving professional labor; the mass of individuals administering government

interim: for a limited time, during a period of transition

Civil society and the international donor community stepped in as referees to break the political deadlock between the two major political parties, but they failed. Khaleda dissolved the parliament in December 1995 and held an election in February 1996, boycotted by the opposition. The government’s well-documented attempt to manipulate the February election results gave legitimacy to the AL’s claim that the BNP could not be trusted to oversee a fair election. Finally, civil society and even members of the government bureaucracy came forward in support of an election under a neutral caretaker government. Khaleda had no other alternative but to give in to these demands. The parliament was dissolved again; Khaleda resigned, handing over power to a caretaker government headed by Muhammad Habibur Rahman (b. 1930), a former chief justice. This interim government was able to hold a parliamentary election that was later hailed as free and fair by national and international observers. In the June 1996 election, the AL was the clear winner. GOVERNMENT OF SHEIKH HASINA

The election victory of the AL under Sheikh Hasina’s (b. 1947) leadership demonstrated the basic stability of the centrist ruling class in Bangladesh. To win the election, the AL had to gain the trust and support of dominant groups such as the civil bureaucracy, the military, and the business community—groups whose support the party had lost during its brief earlier rule (1972–1975). The government of Sheikh Hasina started off well. It successfully concluded a thirty-year water-sharing treaty with India (over the Ganges River) and negotiated a peace accord with rebels in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Consolidation of democratic practices remained a continuing challenge, however. Alleging government suppression of its workers, the BNP repeatedly boycotted parliamentary sessions, engaged in street demonstrations, and shut down the country with prolonged strikes. The BNP also refused to participate in any parliamentary by-elections and elections to various local bodies, demanded the organization of all elections for local bodies under a neutral caretaker government, and called for the resignation of the AL-led government. The AL refused to resign, citing its electoral mandate to complete its five-year term. In July 2001 the AL stepped down, and handed over power to a caretaker government headed by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Latifur

■ ■ ■

T H E A W A M I L E A G U E V S . B A N G L A D E S H N AT I O N A L I S T PA R T Y Since Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been passing control of the country back and forth between themselves. At the turn of the twenty-first century the BNP appeared to have the upper hand. The Awami League ruled from 1996 until 2001 when it suffered a staggering defeat at the polls. In 2001 the BNP won 191 of parliament’s 300 seats, while the AL captured just 62. Over the years the two parties have engaged in bitter battles. For instance, in 1994 the AL resigned from parlia-

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ment to protest BNP rule. When the AL left parliament it touched off a constitutional crisis, forcing new elections, which the AL then won. While the two sides harbor a fair amount of antagonism toward each other, their hostility is based more on personal animosity between the leaders than on significant ideological differences. Sheikh Hasina Wajed (b. 1947) has led the AL since 1981, while the BNP president has been Khaleda Zia (b. 1945) since 1984. As president of the party, Zia became the Bangladeshi prime minister following the BNP’s win in 2001.

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Rahman (b. 1936). The results of the October 1 election organized by the caretaker regime saw a reversal of fortune for the AL. The BNP, with its four-party Islamist alliance, won a two-thirds majority of seats in parliament and formed a new government under the prime ministerial leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia (b. 1945). B N P- L E D A L L I A N C E G O V E R N M E N T

The electoral victory of the BNP-led alliance was followed almost immediately by postelection violence and oppression of AL supporters and Hindus in different parts of Bangladesh. The politics of vendetta and violence spread across the country. Confrontations between the ruling alliance and the AL continued, with both sides accusing each other of undemocratic behavior and the use of excessive force. The depth of the rift became evident in early 2004 when the AL announced its intention to launch a movement to topple the government. That movement failed, however, and the AL decided to return to parliament in June, waiting for an opportune moment to launch a movement to remove the government. In May 2004 the BNP-led government passed the fourteenth amendment to the constitution. It increased the retirement age of Supreme Court judges and reintroduced indirect election for forty-five reserved seats for women in

■ ■ ■ vendetta: a protracted, often violent dispute, especially in the name of revenge

Designed by American Louis Khan, the Parliament Building was completed in February 1982. It is used by the country’s 330-seat legislature. (SOURCE: © DAVID H. WELLS/CORBIS) PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH.

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■ ■ ■ coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

parliament. The amendment generated a great deal of controversy, as the indirect election was rejected by all women’s organizations, and the special women’s quota was perceived to serve the short-term election interests of the ruling coalition. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

The difficult conditions of life in Bangladesh and the continued political polarization and conflict have meant that the rights and freedoms of its citizens are

polarize: to separate individuals into adversarial groups

not as well protected and established as they should be in a parliamentary democracy. In its 2004 report, Freedom House rated Bangladesh as only partly free and noted that it continued to be “plagued by lawlessness, rampant corruption, and violent political polarization, all of which threaten its prospects for consolidating democratic institutions and achieving economic development and reform.” Although Bangladesh has succeeded in institutionalizing parliamentary democracy and regular free and fair elections, democratic governance has proved to be a particularly difficult task. The representative nature of parliament remained in doubt during fifteen years of military rule when elections were stagemanaged by the government. The policies of these military regimes toward political opposition were very repressive. And even after the return of democratic elections in 1991, which has ensured the representation of all major political parties, the parliament has failed to emerge as the main institution for policy debates and public accountability. After losing an election, instead of participating as the opposition in parliament, both major parties have instead boycotted the parliament and engaged in street politics to try to topple the government. Such an intolerant attitude toward political opposition has persisted. As political parties and their leaders have faltered in practicing democracy, an opening has been created for other institutions to champion democratic norms and practices. Since the return of democratic elections in 1991, the press and organizations from civil society have become increasingly active in protesting and publicizing human rights violations. The judiciary has occasionally exerted independence with rulings contrary to government decisions. The emergence of these multiple voices as champions of human rights and democratic governance has promoted the growth of democratic processes in Bangladesh. See also: Censorship; India; Pakistan. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Bangladesh.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ge/bg.html⬎. Freedom House. “Bangladesh.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/ bangladesh. htm>. Baxter, Craig. Bangladesh. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1997. Government of Bangladesh. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. ⬍http://www.pmo.gov.bd/constitution/⬎. Hakim, Muhammad A. Bangladesh Politics: The Shahabuddin Interregnum. Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press Limited, 1993. Jahan, Rounaq. Pakistan: Failure in National Integration. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972. Jahan, Rounaq. Bangladesh Politics: Problems and Issues. Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press Limited, 1980.

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Jahan, Rounaq. Bangladesh: Promise and Performance. London: Zed Books, 2000. Lifschultz, Lawrence. Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution. London: Zed Books, 1979. Maniruzzaman. Talukder. The Bangladesh Revolution and its Aftermath. Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press Limited, 1980. Sobhan, Rehman. Bangladesh: Problems of Governance. Dhaka, Bangladesh: University Press Limited, 1993.

Rounaq Jahan

Barbados Barbados is a relatively flat island of 1,116 square kilometers (431 square miles), three times the size of the U.S. District of Columbia) with a population of more than 275,000. Ninety percent of the population is of African origin. Its population growth has been quite small, chiefly due to a high emigration rate. The British, who landed on Barbados in the early 1600s, found no inhabitants. British settlers arrived in 1627, and Barbados was a British colony until gaining its independence in 1966. British planters eventually adopted sugar cane as their cash crop, and this decision led to the consolidation of small farms into large plantations and the importation of slaves from Africa. It also made Barbados vulnerable to the vagaries of the global sugar market. Since gaining independence, Barbados has moved from dependence on sugar to an economy based on tourism. While long a British colony, Barbados was always self-funding, with a large measure of local autonomy. Consequently, plantation owners and merchants dominated its politics, with the majority of the population being excluded. In the 1920s the descendants of African slaves sought their own political rights, and the first election held under universal suffrage was held in 1951. Between 1958 and 1962 Barbados was part of the West Indies Federation, but when that federation ended, it once again became a self-governing colony. Barbados became an independent nation within the British Commonwealth on November 30, 1966. The first political party, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), founded in 1937, was the dominant political force until the rise of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1955. Prior to independence, the leader of the BLP, Sir Grantley Adams (1898–1971), was the first premier of Barbados. He also became the only prime minister of the West Indian Federation between 1958 and 1962. In 1996, Errol Walton Barrow (1920–1987) of the DLP became the first prime minister of the newly independent Barbados. Free political competition has since led to several transfers of power between the BLP and the DLP. The parties have no major ideological differences, so competition often rests on the personalities of their leaders. The BLP returned to power in the May 2003 elections, when Owen Arthur, who also was appointed as minister of finance and minister of culture, was elected as prime minister. Barbados is a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster model. The governor-general is the representative of Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) of Great Britain. Its bicameral parliament consists of the House of Assembly (thirty members) and the Senate (twenty-one senators). The members of the House are elected for five-year terms. The twenty-one senators are appointed by the governor-general, twelve on advice of the prime minister, two on advice of the opposition leaders, and seven at the discretion of the governor-general. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ emigration: the migration of individuals out of a geographic area or country

vagary: a sudden, unexpected change

suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived Westminster: a democratic model of government comprising operational procedures for a legislative body, based on the system used in the United Kingdom governor-general: a governor who rules over a large territory and employs deputy governors to oversee subdivided regions bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Workhall

Barrow-Giles, Cynthia. Introduction to Caribbean Politics. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 2002.

The Crane

Government of Barbados, Government Information Service. “History.” ⬍http://www.barbados.gov.bb/history.htm⬎.

Carrington Saint Patricks

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Barbados’s independent judiciary consists of magistrates’ courts, a court of appeals and a Supreme Court (each with four members), but the chief justice sits on both appellate courts. Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the governorgeneral after consultation with political leaders. Her Majesty’s Privy Council in London is the court of last resort. Barbados ranked twenty-ninth of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Program’s 2004 Human Development Report, the best performance of any country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Political freedom and civil liberties are fully respected in Barbados. However, a high crime rate and narcotics trafficking have adversely affected the tourism industry and raised human rights concerns.

Griffith, Ivelaw Lloyd. Drugs and Security in the Caribbean: Sovereignty Under Siege. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997.

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Belarus is bordered by Poland to the west, Ukraine to the south and southwest, Russia to the east, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. It is landlocked and flat with many lakes, measuring about 207,600 square kilometers (80,000 square miles). In July 2003 its population was estimated at 10 million. The capital of Belarus is located in Minsk. Belarus, meaning “white Russia,” was not an independent nation until 1991, when the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Upon independence, Belarus became one of the three founding countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This organization of former Soviet republics allows for collaboration while permitting each country to maintain its autonomy and independence. Belarus is also a member of the United Nations (UN). Economic and political changes have been very slow in Belarus, and the country has maintained extremely close political and economic ties with Russia. The constitution adopted in 1994 established three branches of government in the republic: presidential, legislative, and judicial. It also established the right to vote for all citizens eighteen years or older. The president is elected to serve five-year terms by popular vote. He or she appoints the prime minister, who is the head of the government, and a cabinet of ministers, who run the government. In 2004 the president of Belarus was G O V E R N M E N T S

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Aleksandr Lukashenko (b. 1954), who was first elected in 1994. Lukashenko ■ ■ ■ made the position of president extremely powerful in a 1996 constitutional referendum: a popular vote on legislation, amendment, which was approved in a voter referendum and widely acknowlbrought before the people by their elected edged as a grab at dictatorial power. The amended constitution granted the leaders or public initiative president unbalanced power over the rest of the government. It lengthened Lukashenko’s term, allowed his decrees to be considered law under many circumstances, and limited how often the legislature can meet. The legislative branch is a bicameral body called the Natsionalnoy bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body Sobranie. The Council of the Republic has sixty-four members who serve fouryear terms; regional councils elect fifty-six of these members, and the president appoints the other eight. The other house, the Chamber of Representatives, has 110 members elected for four-year terms. Belarus’s legal system is based on civil law. The judicial branch of government is a general court system headed by a Supreme Court and includes a Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court addresses matters of constitutional interpretation and consistency. The Chamber of Representatives appoints 50 percent of its members; the other 50 percent are appointed by the president. The other court system, for nonconstitutional matters, operates under the Supreme Court. Lukashenko has led the country as a dictator, implementing many socialauthoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals ist-based market reforms. International reports have revealed elections as generally unfair, often limiting significant citizen participation. In particular, observers have criticized the 1996 referendum expanding the powers of the president as fraudulent and the electoral process leading to its adoption as corrupt. In 2002 human rights violations in Belarus were BELARUS widely reported by both the U.S. Department of State and Human 150 Miles 50 100 0 Rights Watch, with citizens unable to drive political change. The R U S S I A government has prosecuted political opposition figures, prisoner 0 50 100 150 Kilometers torture remains a problem, and the government uses a presidenLATVIA tial decree to prevent international human rights groups from Daugavpils Velikye Luki even conducting operations in Belarus. ac h LITHUANIA Polatsk in a Lukashenko’s authoritarian policies have prevented the Dv Vitsyebsk Pastavy country from achieving true economic and political success as a Vilnius Smolensk Orsha democracy. The poor human rights record in Belarus undermines Maladzyechna B the conditions necessary for a free and truly democratic society. Dzerzhinskaya Gora Mahilyow . 346 m.

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“Belarus.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/bo.html⬎.

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U K R A I N E

Fedor, Helen, ed. Belarus and Moldova Country Studies. Lanham, MD: Bernan, 1996. Kiev

Human Rights Watch. World Report. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2003. ⬍http://hrw.org/wr2k3/⬎.

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Kort, Michael G. The Handbook of the Former Soviet Union. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1996. U.S. Department of State. Human Rights Reports. ⬍http://www.state. gov/g/drl/hr/⬎.

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Belgium

Belgium Covering an area that is about the size of Maryland, and with 10,263,414 inhabitants in 2001, Belgium stands out as one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Its small territory is squeezed between the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east and France to the south and west. This geographical location positions Belgium firmly in the center of the European Union. Brussels, the federal capital of Belgium, hosts the majority of European Union institutions. Although Belgium is characterized by a dramatic level of urbanization and industrialization, it also offers opportunities to ski, swim, and hike.

■ ■ ■ cede: to relinquish political control of lands to another country; surrender

Due to its strategic location, the country has long been a favorite spot for invasive neighboring nations. In the first century B.C.E. the troops of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar conquered the Belgae, one of the various Celtic tribes of early Gaul. In the fourth century C.E., with Rome in decline, control of Gaul was ceded to the Franks, a Germanic tribe, although the region south of what is now Belgium remained under the influence of Rome. That German-Latin duality gives Belgians their somewhat schizophrenic cultural identity. First controlled by the Romans, followed by the Burgundians, Spanish, Austrians, French, and Dutch, the Belgians finally gained independence after the 1830 revolution. Once officially recognized as an independent state, Belgium organized as a constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. From a territorial point of view, the majority of Belgians are either Flemings (58%) or Walloons (32%), living in the north and the south of the country, respectively. The remaining 10 percent of the people are located in the central Brussels area. In Flanders, the official language is Dutch. In fact, almost two out of three Belgians are native Dutch speakers. One in every three Belgians speaks French, and German is spoken by 1 percent of the population. Brussels is officially bilingual, meaning that both Dutch and French are spoken. The linguistic and cultural division coincides roughly with the territorial partition: Most Flemings speak Dutch, whereas French is the mother tongue of the great majority of Walloons. The few German speakers are found among the Walloons in the south. The recognition of three official languages means that all government activities must take place simultaneously in Dutch, French, and German.

compulsory: mandatory, required, or unable to be avoided

Belgium is a wealthy nation. Its gross domestic product per person ranks ninth in the world, higher than larger nations such as Canada, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Its educational and social security systems are among the best in the world, with the longest duration of compulsory education of any country (thirteen years) and numerous social programs, including an elaborate medical system, unemployment insurance coverage, child allowances, and invalid benefits. In spite of its small size, it ranks as the tenthlargest market for the export of U.S. goods and services. On the other hand, poor macroeconomic reactions to the economic crises of the 1970s resulted in a cumulative government debt of 121 percent of the gross national product by the end of the 1980s (compared to a 31 percent U.S. federal debt/gross national production ratio in 1990). The high personal savings rate of the Belgians, however, allowed the government to finance the deficit mainly from domestic savings, thus minimizing harmful effects on the overall economy.

macroeconomics: a study of economics in terms of whole systems, especially with reference to general levels of output and income and to the interrelations among sectors of the economy

socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

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Political power in Belgium is firmly embedded in the political parties. After World War II (1939–1945), the political strongholds were the Flemish Christian Democratic Party and the Walloon Socialist Party. They ruled, alone or together, for over fifty years. Since 1974, the Christian Democrats have provided six successive prime ministers: Leo Tindemans, Paul Vanden Boeynants, Wilfried G O V E R N M E N T S

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Martens, Mark Eyskens, Wilfried Martens, and Jean-Luc Dehaene. The political dominance of the Christian Democrats came to an end in 1999 when the Liberal Party celebrated an electoral victory and formed a government under Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. C O N S T I T U T I O N A L M O N A R C H Y I N A F E D E R A L S TA T E

Belgium belongs to the Western parliamentary democracies and can be described as a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The first Belgian king to take the throne was Leopold I (r. 1831–1865), followed by Leopold II (r. 1865–1909), Albert I (r. 1909–1934), Leopold III (r. 1934–1951), and Baudouin I (r. 1951–1993). The ruling king in 2004 was Albert II. Like other parliamentary democracies, the Belgian state can be characterized by the separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The legislative and executive powers are spread over federal, regional, and local levels. At the federal level, legislative power is in the hands of the parliament, consisting of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate. The monarch—whose role is restricted to several political powers such as the designation of a political leader when a new federal government has been formed—and the prime minister and cabinet exercise the federal executive power. At the regional level, a further distinction is made between communities and regions. The Flemish parliament handles community and regional matters. The Walloons have divided the regional and community power into the Walloon Regional Council and the Francophone Community Council. The German-speaking part of Belgium, which is a result of World War I (1914–1918), has its own community council. The capital Brussels has its own Brussels Regional Council. Every council or parliament responds to an executive body. The judicial power still remains a federal authority. The Belgian Constitution, promulgated in 1830 after the Belgian independence, is the legal basis for this form of government. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BASIS FOR THE GOVERNMENT

Besides the division of powers, the constitution provides for basic and fundamental human rights including free speech and a free press, the confidentiality of letters, presumption of innocence, guarantees of private property and individual freedom, the right to gather peaceably, and the right to enter into associations or partnerships. The constitution emphasizes the equality before the law of every Belgian citizen, and individual rights and freedoms are recognized without discrimination. Special attention is paid to education, to which every citizen is entitled at no charge. In 1993, the constitution was expanded to include social and economic rights such as the right to employment, social security, health care, decent accommodation, cultural and social activities, and social, medical, and legal aid. Because of the transfer of specific national power to the European Union, the Belgian government must also take into account all European directives and guidelines and implement them in its jurisdiction.

■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

THE BELGIUM STOCK EXCHANGE IN BRUSSELS, CIRCA 1889. In downtown Brussels, Belgium, the capital city is highlighted by the impressive Belgium Stock Exchange (Bourse de Bruxelles) that was completed in 1874 by architect Leon Suys. Designed in a neo-classical style, its construction represented the rapid growth of the city in the late nineteenth century. (SOURCE: © MICHAEL MASLAN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS/CORBIS)

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Since 1970, the Belgian Constitution has been revised four times (in 1970, 1980, 1988, and 1993), changing the originally unitarian state into a federal structure. The devolution of power to representative institutions for both cultural identities offered an effective and nonviolent way to deal with the enduring tensions between the Flemings and the Walloons. In the first constitutional debate in 1970, the Flemings wanted more cultural autonomy, and the Walloons demanded more regional economic power, but the two groups could not agree about the exact borders of the new geographical entities to be constructed (especially concerning Brussels). After much debate, the political elite came up with a rather complex solution. Two regional levels were to be created: communities and regions. The communities (Flemish-, French-, and German-speaking) came into being in 1970, but the implementation of the regions was left for future governments (the Flanders and Wallonia regions were established in 1980, and the Brussels region in 1988). During the process of federalization, the communities and regions were gradually given more authority and a greater political and fiscal autonomy. In the early twenty-first century, the process of federalization continues.

■ ■ ■ devolve: to move power or property from one individual or institution to another, especially from a central authority cultural autonomy: the state in which a group’s beliefs and behavior patterns do not incorporate influences from other groups

INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL LIFE

The constitution contains the principles for the separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government. At the federal level, the monarch and the parliament exert the legislative power, and the executive power is laid in the hands of the king, the prime minister, and the federal government. Thus, in theory, the laws are made by the parliament, which functions as a representative of the people, and the king. At the same time, the king also executes the laws, working together with the government, which is led by the prime minister. In actual practice, however, this theoretical attribution of powers does not hold. First, the power of the monarch is very limited, since a minister needs to countersign any pronouncement made by the king or queen in order for it to have any effect. The king or queen performs a merely symbolic function in emphasizing the Belgian (and not Flemish or Walloon) identity. Second, considering that nine out of every ten laws are produced by the departments of government, the government is more powerful than the parliament, effectively blurring the theoretical division of powers. Third, the Belgian democracy is sometimes called a “partycracy,” because the political parties exert a strong influence on all levels of society and government. This reality opposes the legal principles but does not affect the high level of democracy of the state. Through the definition of common goals in the governmental bodies, a “compromise culture” emerges that satisfies all ranks of society. The Belgian state has a federal structure. The Special Acts of 1980 and 1988 describe the fields of legal competence of the communities and regions. If a specific authority is not designated to the communities or regions, it is allocated to the federal level. The communities are generally responsible for cultural matters, while socioeconomic matters are usually dealt with by the regions. For example, education and youth protection are policy topics of the communities. Housing and industry are, by contrast, regional issues. In 2004, Belgium counted more than 800,000 bureaucrats working as civil servants for the local authorities, provinces, communities, regions, or federal government. The political role of the bureaucracy is rather limited due to the existence of political cabinets that assist the ministers. These cabinets are formed by people who are linked with the party delivering the ministers. The G O V E R N M E N T S

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cabinet functions as a think tank and headquarters of the policy making. The administration is merely responsible for working out and following up on the tasks given to it by the cabinet. As already mentioned, Belgium is a constitutional monarchy based on the

■ ■ ■ rule of law: the principle that the law is a final grounds of decision-making and applies equally to all people; law and order welfare state: a political state that assumes liability for the wellbeing of its people through government-run social programs

proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election proxy: an authorized substitute, or, the ability to act in another’s place

subsidy: a government grant used to encourage some action

rule of law. Belgian politicians have typically been more concerned about the development of welfare state provisions and have not been preoccupied with

justice. Independent of the parliamentary and executive powers, the judiciary has regarded itself as the guardian of the rule of law. The main point of the justice administration was the formal organization of the judiciary and the penitentiary. Because the judiciary regarded itself as independent, however, it could not accept that the justice administration would set up a policy that might interfere with its routine. The absence of political commitment and the hostility of the judiciary towards policy making by the justice administration paralyzed justice. The eventual relationship between the judiciary and the administration (and in a broader sense the executive power) could be described as a “nonaggression pact.” As a consequence, the justice administration was not empowered to set up any policies on justice matters. Politicians ignored for many years the difficulties the judiciary faced: problems with access to justice, the lack of judges and staff, judicial arrears, and an insufficient police organization. In 1996, however, a scandal in which a pedophile named Dutroux abducted and murdered his victims caused outrage in Belgium. Almost 300,000 people lined the streets of Brussels protesting the plight of the victims, who had been largely neglected during the handling of the case. These protests forced the minister of justice to try to improve access to justice and to monitor and reorganize the judiciary and the police organizations who had failed to investigate the case properly. The effectiveness of these reforms has yet to be determined. Belgium is one of the few countries in which voting is still compulsory. Contrary to countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, Belgium holds multiple-winner elections. For electoral purposes, the territory is divided into smaller districts (which correspond with the provinces). The Belgian system emphasizes party-list proportional representation whereby parties make lists of candidates to be elected, and seats are allocated to each party in proportion to the number of votes the party and its candidates receive. Voters may vote directly for the party or for the candidates, implying that the latter vote goes to the party. Voters can vote by proxy. The formation of the list is an internal process that varies with each party. The placement on the list strongly influences a candidate’s election chances, but this influence has been somewhat diminished by the electoral reforms of the early 2000s. Political campaigns are relatively short, lasting only about one month, and they are bound by restrictions such as the obligatory use of selected billboards. For all their activities, including campaigns, the parties may rely for funding only on government subsidies and membership contributions. Since the creation of the Belgian state, and almost all throughout the nineteenth century, the Catholic Party (church-oriented and conservative) and the Liberal Party (anticlerical and progressive) dominated politics. In the late nineteenth century the Socialist Party rose to struggle for more political and social rights for working people. After World War II, the Christian Democrats severed their formal ties with the Church and became a mass centrist party, with an emphasis on family values. A postwar phenomenon was the split of the three traditional parties into linguistic-based parties and the emergence of new regional parties. Elections thus became a contest among Flemish parties in the north and Francophone parties in the south. Two green parties emerged in the 1980s and blurred typical dividing lines.

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In Flanders the extreme right party, Vlaams Blok, has begun playing an increasing role in the opposition, with a separatist, anti-immigration, and law and order program. In Wallonia, the Francophone Socialist Party is the major political player. Parties may align themselves with other parties, for electoral (making common lists of candidates) or postelectoral reasons (forming coalitions). A famous but also controversial agreement between all democratic parties is the cordon sanitaire against Vlaams Blok. Due to the continuous success of Vlaams Blok during the 1990s, the democratic parties formally decided not to step into a coalition with the extremist party. This agreement could not stop the ongoing shrinking of the electorate of both the traditional and newer democratic parties, however. In the early 2000s, as the political landscape became increasingly dominated by multiparty and relatively unstable coalitions with smaller parties, the political establishment searched for new strategies to maintain government stability. An important element in the reform of the voting system was the introduction of a minimum election threshold of 5 percent of the vote to keep very small parties from winning any seats. As a consequence, some smaller parties formed alliances with the traditional parties. Some powerful interest groups (e.g. trade unions, municipalities, employers, and self-employers) also began to play an important role in the political life of Belgium. More than half of all private sector and public services employees belong to labor unions. Unlike many U.S. unions, Belgian labor unions take positions on a wide range of political topics. Although many of these organizations have lost most of their direct influence in Belgian politics since the 1980s (and especially since the coalitions were formed with the liberals in 1999), their members are still well represented in the parliament and on the boards of the political parties.

■ ■ ■ separatism: a belief that two regions should be separated politically coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

See also: European Union; Parliamentary Systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Federal Portal.” Belgian Federal Government. ⬍http://www.belgium.be⬎. Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. ⬍http://www. diplomatie.be/en/belgium⬎. Mahler, Gregory S. Comparative Politics: An Institutional and Cross-national Approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. PolitInfo.com. Country Profile: Belgium. ⬍http://us.politinfo.com/Information/Country_ Profiles/country_profile_086.html⬎. Van Loon, Francis, Gerrit Franssen, Steven Gibens, and Koen Van Aeken. “Belgium.” In Legal Systems of the World, Vol. 1, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.

Gerrit Franssen, Steven Gibens, Koen Van Aeken

Belize Belize borders Mexico on the north, Guatemala on the west, and the Caribbean Sea on the east, with an area of 22,960 square kilometers (8,867 square miles). As of 2003, it had 266,440 inhabitants of diverse ethnicities. Its sociocultural characteristics are more like those of an English-speaking island in the Caribbean rather than those of any of its neighbors in Latin America. Tropical forests are the predominant vegetation in Belize’s hot and humid G O V E R N M E N T S

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climate; the landscape is flat in the north and a low range of mountains exists in the south. According to a 2001 estimate, the economy depended on service industries (representing 58% of the gross domestic product [GDP]), agriculture (18%), and other small industries (24%). In 2003 there was some diversification, with tourism and shrimp farming taking on a share of the GDP. As of 2002, the GDP per capita was U.S.$4,900. One 1999 study reported that 33 percent of the ■ ■ ■ population had an income below the poverty line. governor-general: a governor who rules The first European settlers were English pirates, who in the seventeenth over a large territory and employs deputy century started a logwood industry, which proved more profitable than piracy governors to oversee subdivided regions and caused English settlements to grow in the region. In the nineteenth century bicameral: comprised of two chambers, the colony attracted dispossessed peoples, such as the Garifuna and Maya, usually a legislative body who had fled either the Caste War of Yucatan (1847–1901) or the prospect of forced labor in Guatemala. A small-scale legislature began meeting in the early 1800s; in 1854 the British created a formal constitution and officially established the colony of British N BELIZE Honduras in 1862. The early 1900s were a period of political 50 Miles 25 0 E W and social change. The emerging black English-speaking mid0 25 50 Kilometers dle class began to press for the right to vote, participation in the S political process, and tangible political power. Labor disturbances, a reaction to the protection of plantation owners’ interCorozal ests, resulted in the legalization of trade and soon demands MEXICO were broadened to include political reform. Progresso In 1950 the first political party, the People’s United Party Orange Walk Ambergris (PUP), was formed. Universal suffrage was granted to literate Cay adults in 1954. The United Democratic Party (UDP), founded in Tintal Maskall Camp 1974 by the merger of the Liberal Party, the National Caribbean HIcks Sea Independence Party, and the People’s Development Movement, Cay is Belize’s second-largest party. In 1978 the country changed its Hill Bank Belize name from British Honduras to Belize. The final obstacle to indeCity pendence was Guatemala’s unresolved territorial claim of all of Hattieville Turneffe Belize. By 1980 no international support for this claim existed, Islands and full independence was granted to the nation in 1981. Belmopan Belize Belize is a parliamentary democracy. The head of state is Mullins River San Ignacio Columbus the British monarch, who is represented by a governor-general Middlesex Reef Benque Viejo del Carmen who has a largely ceremonial role and is not subject to a fixed Dangriga term of office. The government is led by a prime minister, who Victoria Pk. er 3,675 ft. is named by the lower house of the bicameral legislature. IN 1120 m. ra TA nc h Glover According to the constitution, political power rests with those N Reef U who are responsible to the democratically elected House of O M Barrier Placentia Representatives, principally the cabinet and the prime minister. A Reef Village AY Prime ministers since the 1960s have included George Cadle M Monkey River San Price of the PUP, who served from 1964 to 1984 and 1989 to Town Antonio 1993; Manuel Esquivel of the UDP, who served from 1984 to 1989 and 1993 to 1998; and Said Wilbert Musa of the PUP, Punta Gorda Gulf of Honduras who was elected in 1998. Barranco The constitution has established an independent judiciary B a hía d e Sarstoo n Amatique and guarantees fundamental human, civil, and political rights. Elections are noted for their regularity, adherence to democratic Belize principles, and absence of violence. GUATEMALA t

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See also: Caribbean Region; Constitutional Monarchy; Parliamentary Systems. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Anzinger, Gunnar. “Belize.” Government on the WWW. ⬍http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/ bz.html⬎. “Belize.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ geos/bh.html⬎. Cubola Productions. A History of Belize—Nation in the Making. ⬍http://www. belizenet.com/history.html⬎. Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Belize—A Country Study. ⬍http://lcweb2. loc.gov/frd/cs/bztoc.html⬎.

Birgit Schmook

Benin Formerly known as the Republic of Dahomey, the West African Republic of Benin is one of the smallest and most densely populated states in the region. It has a land area of 112,622 square kilometers (43,475 square miles), a section of which is perpendicular to the Gulf of Guinea in the south. To the north of Benin lies Burkina Faso and Republic of Niger, to the east is the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and to the west is the Republic of Togo. The capital and seat of government is Porto Novo. Although Benin comprises forty-two ethnic groups, its population—estimated at just over 7 million in 2004—is divided between four main ethno-linguistic groups: the Fon speakers, who live in the south and are the country’s largest single ethnic group; the Yorubas, who live in the southeast near Nigeria, the group’s main homeland; the Volta speakers, who inhabit central and northern Benin; and the Fulani, who live in the north. French is the official language. Benin was once the center of the ancient and powerful West African kingdom of Dahomey, the name by which the country was known until it was changed in 1975. Benin became a French colony in 1872, finally gaining its political independence from France on August 1, 1960. Since 1991 Benin has been a multiparty democracy, adopting the presidentialparliamentary system of government. The government consists of a president and eighty-six-member unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. The president serves a five-year term, and national assembly members serve four-year terms. Both are elected by popular vote. A judicial system, headed by a Constitutional Court (Cour Constitutionnelle) with the authority to exercise final jurisdiction over constitutional cases, completes the separation of powers. The judiciary is subject to political influence, but it has shown a surprising degree of independence in many controversial cases. Administratively, the country is divided into six provinces.

■ ■ ■ unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

Benin’s democratic government is the latest in the country’s arduous search for a workable political system since independence. After independence, the country witnessed a succession of military governments that ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu Kérékou (b. 1933) and the establishment of a one-party state based on Marxist-Leninist principles. Economic hardships and increasing internal strife forced Kérékou to agree to a national conference in 1989 in preparation for the country’s return to democratic rule. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicéphore Soglo (b. 1935) as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. Kérékou returned to power following

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the 1996 elections and was reelected in 2001, making Benin one of the few African states that have achieved a successful transfer of power through the ballot box. Charges of political intimidation and fraud were frequent in the national elections of 1996 and 2001, and unrest has occurred among some of the armed forces. However, political dissent has been tolerated much more in Benin than in many African countries. Freedom House has rated Benin as free since 1991, making the country one of the five nations in West Africa that have earned the best scores in political and civil freedoms.

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“Benin.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005.
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U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “Benin.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2005. ⬍http://www.state. gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41588.htm⬎.

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■ ■ ■ theocracy: a state governed by its religious leaders

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Bhutan Bhutan is located in the Himalayan Mountains of South Central Asia. It is surrounded by two giant neighbors, China and India. Bhutan occupies 47,000 square kilometers (18,142 square miles) and is about half the size of the U.S. state of Indiana. Its population was estimated to be 2,185,569 in July 2004, but other estimates place its population at less than half that size. Bhutan’s per capita income was estimated to be $1,300 in 2003, about the same as Nepal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Rwanda. Ethnically, Bhutan’s population is primarily Bhote (50%) or Nepalese (35%); religiously, it is Buddhist (75%) and Hindu (25%). With a life expectancy of sixty-three years and an adult literacy rate estimated at 47 percent, the United Nations’s Human Development Report 2004 ranked Bhutan 133 out of 177 nations for whom it calculated its Human Development Index. Founded as a Tibetan Buddhist theocracy in 1616, Bhutan became a secular hereditary monarchy under British influence in 1907. In 1910, the British agreed to leave Bhutan autonomous in its internal affairs while continuing to be responsible for its defense and external affairs. India assumed the responsibilities of the British when it became independent from Britain in 1947. Bhutan’s relations with India continue to be extremely important. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Jigme Singye Wangchuck (b. 1955) has served as Bhutan’s king since 1972, when he succeeded his father. He is the official and effective supreme authority in the country. Although recent kings have set up power-sharing institutions such as a Royal Advisory Council, N a National Assembly, and a Council of Ministers and have accepted some limits on their power, Bhutan has no formal BHUTAN E W constitution, and there is no doubt about the king’s continuing 75 Miles 25 50 0 S authority. Legislation in the form of a kingly order does not 0 25 50 75 Kilometers have to be approved by the National Assembly, but the C H I N A Kangri Assembly can reject or modify it. The Council of Ministers is 23,360 ft. 7120 m. Kula Gangri nominated by the king for 5 year terms, if approved by the 24,783 ft. H Chomo Lhari 7554 m. I M Cona 23,997 ft. Assembly. The Royal Advisory Council is chosen solely by A L 7314 m. A Gasa Y A S Dzong the king. Although the king’s position is hereditary, reforms Shingphel Thunkar Byakar adopted in 1998 allow the National Assembly to remove the Punakha ¯ Dzong Tobrang Thimphu king by a two-thirds vote. Wangdü Paro Tongsa Phodrang Dzong The National Assembly has 150 members who serve three-year Mongar Tashi Gang terms. One hundred and five of these are selected by village conShemgang Chimakothi n Samdrup Da stituencies, ten by religious bodies, and thirty-five by the monarch Sarbhang ¯ Geylegphug Jongkar Samchi to represent government and other secular interests. The previous Phuntsholing alley V m a s s A king gave up the right to veto decisions of the National Assembly in 1968, so it is able to legislate on its own. There are no political I N D I A parties and the government discourages their formation. a utr ap hm The regular Bhutanese judiciary consists principally of District B ra Bhutan Courts (twenty in number) and a High Court. It is possible to BANGLADESH appeal a High Court decision to the king, who normally assigns such appeals to be processed by his Royal Advisory Council. an mt Bu

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Bhutan’s status as a monarchy with little citizen participation and the strict limitations on civil liberties its government imposes have led to its being rated as “Not Free” by Freedom House.

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

See also: India. BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. “Bhutan.” Amnesty International Report 2004. New York: Amnesty International, 2004. ⬍http://web. amnesty.org/report2004/btn-summary-eng⬎. Banks, Arthur S., ed. “Bhutan.” In Political Handbook of the World 1979. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. “Bhutan.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/bt.html⬎. Freedom House. “Bhutan.” Freedom in the World 2003: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www. freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2003/countryratings/bhutan.htm⬎. Turner, Barry. “Bhutan.” SYBworld: The Essential Global Reference. ⬍http://www. sybworld.com⬎. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2004. New York: United Nations Development Programme, 2004. ⬍http://hdr.undp.org/reports/ global/2004/pdf/hdr04_HDI.pdf⬎. U.S. Department of State. “Bhutan.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—2003. Washington DC: Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. ⬍http:// www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27945.htm⬎.

C. Neal Tate

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Bicameral Parliamentary Systems Parliaments can be organized in a number of ways, although two forms dominate modern democratic designs. Parliaments are unicameral or bicameral. In a unicameral parliament all members of parliament sit in the same chamber and vote on major policy decisions. In a bicameral parliament members meet and vote in two separate chambers, usually called the lower house and upper house. The lower house is usually based proportionally on population, with each member representing the same number of citizens in each district or region. The upper house varies more broadly in the way in which members are selected, including inheritance, appointment by various bodies, and direct and indirect elections. Moreover, the upper house can serve to represent ethnic, religious, or regional groupings. A majority of the world’s parliaments are unicameral. However, in 2000, 37 percent of the world’s 178 parliaments had two chambers. This proportion has decreased since World War II (1939–1945) as several established democracies have abolished their second chamber, and as new, unitary, and postcommunist states have adopted a unicameral assembly.

DIMENSIONS OF BICAMERAL SYSTEMS

The characteristics of lower and upper legislative houses differ on a number of dimensions. There are variations in size, term of office, turnover, membership, representation, and institutional power. However, two particular dimensions have been emphasized. The first distinction is whether the two houses are of equal or unequal power. When the strength of the houses is very unequal, feeble (asymmetric) bicameralism exists, and when the strength is about equal, strong (symmetric) bicameralism exists. The second distinction is whether the two houses are similar or dissimilar in nature or composition. They are similar in nature if both houses are elected and they are likely to be similar in composition if both houses are elected with congruent electoral systems. There are three main principles of selection to the upper house: direct election (used in twenty-seven of sixty-six upper houses as of 2004), indirect election (used by twenty-one), and some form of appointment, usually by the government (used by sixteen). A fourth method of appointment is heredity, which is historically common, but rare in present times. The British House of Lords is the only house in which this element is still present. Although most members are appointed by the government for lifelong terms, some hereditary peers remain. The most frequently employed method of selecting upper house membership is direct election, in whole or in part, by a country’s citizens. In parliamentary bicameral countries this kind of method is in use, for example, in Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Japan. Indirect elections are quite common and occur in such countries as Austria, Belgium, France, and The Netherlands. Finally, a method entailing full or partial appointment is employed in countries such as Canada and Germany. In bicameral systems the two houses should complement each other in terms of power and representation. If the second chamber is very similar to the first chamber, it may prove ineffective, and if it is very dissimilar, the possibility of conflict between the houses will make cooperation difficult. Therefore, it is important that the system includes mechanisms for conflict resolution. One mechanism is the “navette,” a consultative process whereby a bill shuttles back and forth until agreement is reached. Other methods are joint session and decision by one house. In most bicameral legislatures the lower chamber predominates. There is no case in which the upper house is stronger than the lower house. Especially in

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Shortly after World War II, Italy became a democratic nation represented by a two-chamber parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, led by a prime minister and a president.

ITALIAN PRESIDENT GIOVANNI LEONE’S INAUGURATION ON DECEMBER 29, 1971. (SOURCE: © BETTMANN/CORBIS)

parliamentary systems, in which the cabinet is responsible for the parliament, ensuring that the cabinet is responsible to one chamber is critical. The cabinet cannot be responsible to two chambers. Usually, the upper house is able only to delay legislation passed by the lower house. Sometimes, the upper house can veto certain types of legislation. In Germany, for instance, the Bundesrat has veto power over legislation that affects the power of the states (the Länder). In Britain the House of Commons is the dominant partner: Ministers and governments emerge from the lower chamber and remain accountable to it. However, the lordships can currently delay nonfinancial legislation for a year. The Irish upper house can do no more than delay bills for ninety days. The term of the upper house varies between six years (e.g., Australia, India, and Japan) and nine years (France). EMPIRICAL FINDINGS

On all continents, unicameral assemblies are more common than bicameral ones. For the most part bicameral systems may be found in South and North America and Europe. On the contrary, in Africa and Asia bicameral systems are rather unusual. Several studies show that most federal systems have a two-chamber assembly. Countries with strong bicameralism are very often federal states. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently

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Moreover, bicameral systems are much more common in large countries than in small ones. This association is mainly a consequence of the fact that federal states usually are large. Finally, studies also show that older countries are more often bicameral than countries that have attained their independence in recent years.

B E N E F I T S A N D D R AW B A C K S

The major benefits and drawbacks of bicameralism are, according to scholar Andrew Heywood, the following: The benefits: 1. Second chambers check the power of first chambers and prevent abuses of majoritarian rule. 2. Bicameral assemblies more effectively check the power of the executive, because there are two chambers to expose the failings of government. 3. Two-chamber assemblies widen the basis of representation, allowing each house to articulate a different range of interests and respond to different groups of voters. 4. Second chambers can act as a constitutional safeguard, delaying the passage of controversial legislation and allowing time for discussion and public debate. The drawbacks: 1. Unicameral assemblies are more efficient, because the existence of a second chamber can make the legislative process unnecessarily complex and difficult. 2. Second chambers often act as a check on democratic rule, particularly when their members are nonelected or indirectly elected. 3. Bicameral assemblies can mean institutional conflict in the legislature, as well as government gridlock. 4. Second chambers introduce a conservative political bias by upholding existing constitutional arrangements and, sometimes, the interests of social elites. In terms of authority and political power bicameral legislatures show large variation. The weakest upper chambers are hardly more than retirement posts for politicians of great merit. On the other hand, with respect to political influence the strongest upper chambers are comparable with the lower chamber or the executive power.

■ ■ ■ majoritarianism: the practice of rule by a majority vote

See also: Elections; Germany; Ireland; Representation; United Kingdom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Gallagher, Michael, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair. Representative Government in Modern Europe. Institutions, Parties, and Governments. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Hague, Rod, and Martin Harrop. Comparative Government and Politics. An Introduction. Houndmills, UK: Palgrave, 2001. Heywood, Andrew. Politics. Houndmills, UK: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1997. Lane, Jan-Erik, and Svante Ersson. Politics and Society in Western Europe. London: SAGE Publications, 1999. Sartori, Giovanni. Comparative Constitutional Engineering. An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes. Houndmills, UK: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1994. Tsebelis, George, and Jeanette Money. Bicameralism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Guy-Erik Isaksson

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Biko, Stephen SOUTH AFRICAN ACTIVIST 1946–1977

A prominent anti-apartheid activist, Stephen Biko is known principally for his work in raising self-consciousness and pride among South African blacks. His tragic and brutal death in police custody in 1977 drew global attention and condemnation. Born on December 18, 1946, in Kingwilliamstown, Biko won a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Natal in 1965. He quickly became active in the multiracial National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) that was composed of, and led primarily by, white liberal students who were strongly critical of the apartheid government. After attending a NUSAS conference at Rhodes University in 1968, where he was deeply offended by segregated sleeping and eating accommodations, Biko decided to break with NUSAS and form an all-black student union, the South African Students’ Organization (SASO). He described his reasons for doing so as twofold. First, Biko found the proportionally small number of blacks in NUSAS an obstacle to that organization’s being an effective vehicle for substantive social change. Second, he wished to advance the black consciousness movement (a movement that existed outside of South Africa as well). It is for the latter that he is most well-known.

■ ■ ■ apartheid: an official policy of racial segregation in the Republic of South Africa with a goal of promoting and maintaining white domination

Biko argued that blacks in South Africa had to form and realize their own sense of identity, and that this work had to be done independently of whites. Biko did not mean that the races should be segregated. Rather, he believed that years of oppression by apartheid had wrought a psychological inferiority complex among blacks—that they had literally been taught by South African society to devalue themselves because they were black. To counter such an attitude, Bike believed that blacks had to band together, create their own principles, be true to and respectful of their own history, and together struggle against the political forces of apartheid. Blacks had to do more than simply win political freedom from the government; they had to free themselves from the psychological oppression wrought by decades of political abuse. In 1972, having terminated his study of medicine, Biko and several others formed an adult wing of SASO, called the Black People’s Convention; he also simultaneously accepted a position with the Black Community Programmes in Durban (where his university was located). Soon thereafter Biko was banned from Durban and restricted to his hometown of Kingwilliamstown. His work for the Black Community Programmes continued there, as did his political efforts. Biko’s particular conception of black consciousness required not only a racially exclusive struggle, but also no cooperation with anyone “in the system.” This extreme attitude set him apart from the more moderate leaders in the antiapartheid movement. Biko’s political activism led to his arrest and detention in 1973 and 1975 (for over one hundred days). Rearrested in 1977, he died while in police custody on September 12, from massive brain trauma. These injuries were sustained as the result of police brutality, and Biko’s death made him a global martyr in the struggle against apartheid.

SOUTH AFRICAN ANTI-APARTHEID LEADER STEPHEN BIKO. Biko was named an

honorary president of the Black People’s Convention in 1972 for his work in rallying to empower the black community. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

See also: Apartheid; Mandela, Nelson; South Africa.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Biko, Stephen. I Write What I Like, ed. Aelred Stubbs. London: Bowerdean Press, 1978. Juckles, Tim J. Opposition in South Africa: The Leadership of Z. K. Matthews, Nelson Mandela, and Stephen Biko. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995. Woods, Donald. Biko, 3rd ed. New York: Henry Holt, 1991.

Andrew Costello

Bill of Rights ■ ■ ■ arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice infringe: to exceed the limits of; to violate

A bill of rights is a formal declaration of the fundamental rights of individuals within a particular domain. Its purpose is to protect those rights from any arbitrary, unfair, or capriciously applied actions by the government. Although such statements are sometimes promulgated by legislative enactments, most usually a bill of rights is part of a nation’s constitution. Including a bill of rights in a constitution seeks to immunize them from infringement by legislation and other governmental policies and thereby to set limits on governmental actions on behalf of human rights. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

enumerate: to expressly name, as in a list

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

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The English Bill of Rights (1689) is usually considered to have ushered in the practice of having a distinct enumeration of “guarantees” designed to protect individual rights. In the Glorious Revolution (1688), parliament had deposed the hereditary King James II (1633–1701) for violating the “true, ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties” of the English people. Those rights and liberties were largely unwritten customary practices stemming from Magna Carta (1215). When parliament offered the throne to William of Orange (1650–1702) and his wife Mary (1662–1694), they wanted to make sure that the new monarchs would respect those rights. Hence parliament drew up the bill of rights and conditioned the offer of the crown on their acceptance by William and Mary. Although since that time, English (later United Kingdom) governments have generally respected human rights, that same history revealed the potential weakness of a legislatively promulgated bill of rights. If parliament was the source of those rights—as opposed to stemming from the authority of the people themselves—a subsequent parliament could amend or even abridge those protections. This power of parliament led the American Revolutionary–era pamphleteer Thomas Paine (1737–1809), in his famous The Rights of Man (1791–92), to debunk British “pretensions” to even having a constitution. Canadian and Israeli experiences have reinforced Paine’s argument and explain why the general, worldwide consensus holds that a bill of rights ought to be part of a nation’s constitution and thereby immune from ordinary shifts in policy. In 1960 the Canadian parliament promulgated a bill of rights. Because it was a federal legislative enactment and not part of the constitution, its provisions did not extend to protecting matters within the jurisdiction of the provinces or limit subsequent federal parliamentary laws. Most Canadians therefore date their “real” bill of rights to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is Part I of the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982. Similarly, Israel came into existence in 1948 and 1949 without the enactment of a formal written constitution. In 1950, a compromise was reached whereby the Knesset (parliament) would periodically enact Basic Laws, and in this piecemeal G O V E R N M E N T S

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fashion, as a societal consensus developed, a constitution would emerge in a chapter-by-chapter process. To date, the Knesset has enacted eleven Basic Laws covering most important governmental institutions and procedures. In 1995, the Israeli Supreme Court announced that it would henceforth treat the Basic Laws as Israel’s constitution and regard any governmental policies that conflicted with provisions of the Basic Laws as unconstitutional. Yet because the Basic Laws do not include a bill of rights, most Israelis still question whether their country actually has a constitution. The belief in the value of constitutionalizing a bill of rights stems largely from the American experience. The U.S. Constitution that emerged from the 1787 convention did not contain a bill of rights. When it was submitted to the state ratification conventions that absence became the principal source of opposition. Only when the Federalists—the drafters and supporters of the constitution—promised to add a bill of rights via the amendment process did a sufficient number of state conventions approve the document. The first U.S. Congress kept that promise. In 1791, the first ten amendments to the constitution were ratified and became known as the U.S. Bill of Rights.

■ ■ ■ ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

PROBLEMS RAISED AND LESSONS LEARNED

The American experience also illustrates the problems posed by inserting a bill of rights into a written constitution. First, there is the issue of what rights are to be included. When the Federalists initially defended the omission, they argued that, similar to the theoretical controversies surrounding natural rights, there was no agreement as to what rights defined liberty. Moreover, as times changed, different values and rights might well come to be considered to be fundamental (e.g., those provisions in the original U.S. Constitution that recognized the existence of slavery are now considered as denials of the basic equality of all humans). Better, the Federalists argued, to protect individuals’ rights by strictly limiting the authority of government to certain areas.

natural right: a basic privilege intrinsic to all people that cannot be denied by the government

■ ■ ■

T H O M A S PA I N E ’ S R I G H T S O F M A N The works of English-American writer and political pamphleteer Thomas Paine (1737–1809) helped fuel American colonists’ desire for independence. Paine was born in England and at the age of thirteen, he joined his father in the corset-making business. As a young adult he tried other careers but failed in each of them, and he decided to seek his fortune in America. Paine arrived in Philadelphia in 1744 and found work as an editor for Pennsylvania Magazine. He began writing his own articles and published many anonymously or under pseudonyms. His Common Sense pamphlet (1776) inspired the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Paine took an early stand against slavery. He wrote passionately and extensively about his outrage over this practice. His abolitionist stance contributed to his notoriety in America and Europe.

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In the late 1780s Paine returned to Europe and published his best-selling two-part political pamphlet called Rights of Man (1791–1792), which defended the French Revolution (1789–1799). In this political treatise, Paine spells out what he believes to be universal truths: a) Men are born free and equal; b) everyone has a right to liberty, property, security, and to resist oppression; and c) rights are derived from the state, which is the source of sovereignty. The British banned Paine from England after the publication of Rights of Man because, in addition to writing about the need to overthrow the monarchy, he also tried to organize for it. He found asylum in France, where he was a member of the National Convention. The French revolutionaries threw him in jail, however, because he opposed the execution of the king. American intervention won his release from prison and he returned to the United States, where he died in poverty and relative obscurity in New Rochelle, New York.

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■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

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There is a related issue. The Federalists argued that any enumeration might lead to the conclusion that individuals were entitled to only those rights that are specified in the bill of rights. This would jeopardize the status of those rights overlooked at the time a bill of rights was adopted or that later came to be seen as fundamental. The latter issue was resolved by inserting into the constitution words that explicitly stated that the constitutional text, including the bill of rights, was not exhaustive. The Ninth Amendment reads: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The very process of amending the constitution to add the bill of rights indicated one method of recognizing other fundamental rights. Thus the abolition of slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a crime) in the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) was a major step in the American recognition of the basic equality of all humanity. The new American nation had to confront a second major issue: how to implement the bill of rights. Unless a way was found to protect individuals from arbitrary and capricious governmental actions, a bill of rights was potentially little more than a series of admonitions to the policy makers. Because policies that could infringe human rights would most likely stem from legislative or executive actions, Americans came to believe that the judiciary was best suited to serve as the guardians of those rights. In the words of James Madison (1751–1836), the principal author of the U.S. Bill of Rights, “Independent tribunals of justice will consider themselves in a peculiar manner the guardians of those rights . . . [and] resist every encroachment upon rights expressly stipulated . . . by the declaration of rights” (Annals of Congress 1789, 457). Generally, the American model has worked well, although there have been serious violations of human rights. Black Americans were denied civil rights for a century after the abolition of slavery. Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II (1939–1945). Political rights were violated during the “Red Scares” (i.e., the reaction to the acute fear of communism infiltration in the United States) after World War I (1914–1918) and World War II. Additionally, criminal justice was frequently not available to the poor. Yet over time, the United States became increasingly supportive of human rights. Partly the increased protection of human rights was the result of constitutional amendments, such as the extension of voting rights to women by the Nineteenth Amendment (1920). Partly it was the result of legislation, such as the granting of citizenship to Native Americans in 1927, the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A significant part of the extension of human rights in the United States stems from judicial implementation of the bill of rights. The Supreme Court extended most guarantees in the original bill of rights—originally designed as protections only against the federal government—to the actions of state and local governments. Belatedly, the courts enforced constitutional prohibitions against racially discriminatory governmental actions. American courts have come to protect vigilantly and broadly those individual rights essential in a democratic society, including the freedoms of speech, press, association, religion, and conscience. Moreover, the Supreme Court has recognized certain rights not specified in the text as worthy of constitutional protection. An example of the judicial expansion of basic rights is the Supreme Court’s recognition of a private individual’s autonomous freedom in matters concerning intimate sexual relations. Thus for all the missteps along the way, the U.S. Bill of Rights is generally functioning as intended.

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Adopted in 1791 by the U.S. Congress to ensure individual civil liberties from abuses by the federal government, the ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution became known as the Bill of Rights. (SOURCE: © HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES) THE U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS.

The success of the American model can be seen by its emulation around the world. Of the 191 member states in the United Nations, all but seven have formal written integrated constitutions with bills of rights. Additionally, most of those nations also provide for judicial procedures to protect against governmental actions that violate the individual rights incorporated into their constitutions. Moreover, the blatant disregard and contempt of human rights in the first half of the twentieth century that resulted in horrendous acts such as the Nazi Holocaust prompted a series of international bills of rights in an effort to secure effective recognition of individual rights. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly promulgated the Universal Declaration of Rights, which was followed by the European Convention of Human Rights in 1950. In 1969 the American Convention on Human Rights was signed by the nations of the Western Hemisphere. The post–World War II era was also marked by increased efforts to implement those international bills of rights to find ways to protect rights enumerated therein. International courts and non-governmental organizations were instituted for that purpose.

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■ ■ ■

N AT U R A L R I G H T S The idea of “natural rights” as the basis for “natural law” has caused controversy for centuries, because scholars have found it very difficult to agree on a universal definition of natural rights. Philosophers in ancient Greece and Rome first developed the concept of natural rights; they stated that certain laws of the gods and of nature superseded the laws of the state. English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) further advanced the idea of natural rights. He argued that, as human beings, all individuals have certain inherent rights that predated the introduction of civilized societies. Locke believed these

natural rights included the right to life, liberty, and property. Others, however, argued that humans were mere savages in their natural state and therefore had no natural rights. Even though philosophers could not agree on the existence or the definition of natural rights, the concept evolved during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and sparked countless revolutions. Natural rights were written into constitutions around the world, such as the U.S. Bill of Rights and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

CONTINUING ISSUES

Although the utility of having a bill of rights incorporated into written constitutions and international agreements is now universally accepted, some of the original problems remain. First, at issue is what rights are to be considered fundamental. This, in turn, has a dual aspect. Some individuals seek to have their behavior recognized as a basic right and thereby immune from governmental interference. At the turn of the twenty-first century the most prominent example of this demand for a “negative freedom” is the claim by gays and lesbians to a right for private, autonomous, and individual choice in matters of consensual sexual relations. Other individuals seek to have certain needs recognized as human rights and thereby entitled to government support. At the turn of the twenty-first century the most prominent examples of these demands for “positive freedom” are the insistent claims that education and health be classified as fundamental rights. The continuing demands to extend the scope of matters incorporated into bills of rights are a sign of the increased importance of human rights on the political agenda of the nations of the world. As illustrated by the U.S. experience, there are several ways to extend the scope of a bill of rights. The original enumeration can be enlarged via the appropriate amendment process. Between 1952 and 1966, for example, five protocols were added to the European Convention of Human Rights. Formally adopted amendments do more than create new legal rights; the public recognition of a societal consensus also provides significant political leverage for those individuals and groups claiming those rights. That is why, for example, women’s rights advocates attempted to add an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the 1970s and 1980s. With the failure of that effort, legislative and judicial implementation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was successfully utilized to advance equal rights for women. However, legislatively and judicially defined rights are narrower in scope and more vulnerable to future corrosive acts. The second—and more significant continuing issue—involves the actual implementation of bills of rights. Unless ways are found to guarantee that actual individuals are able to enjoy the freedoms enumerated, bills of rights are no more than paper barriers to potentially harmful governmental actions. The American example points to the utility of having courts serve as the primary guardians of individual rights, and the absence of independent tribunals has indeed permitted tyrannical invasions of human liberty. Throughout its existence, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1917–1991) had a splendid articulation of human

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rights, which were routinely ignored by dictatorial communist governments. Thus, as more nations became democratic, they adopted constitutions with independent judicial tribunals to protect their bills of rights. Truly independent courts, however, are not in themselves sufficient to guarantee that a nation’s population enjoys the maximum feasible freedom. There must also be a societal commitment to seek that goal. No one in the United States—the nation with the longest continuous commitment to a bill of rights—believes that a perfectly just society has already been achieved. Problems still exist. For example, despite the explicit wording of the Ninth Amendment, there are still political leaders and judges who insist that constitutional protection can only be accorded those rights explicitly stated in the text and that the scope of those rights must be limited to those actions current at the time the protections were added to the constitution. Just as important, even when there is a shared consensus about the rights that are protected by the constitution, the nature and extent of those rights remains problematic. To claim a right is to claim that a certain human action is entitled to government protection. Given the diversity of human nature and the vast variety of conditions, few people are willing to claim that any right is absolute, that it is always and under all conditions entitled to governmental protection. In the entire history of the United States under the constitution (since 1787) only two justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have made that claim about any right. The rest have recognized that a claim of a right must be assessed in terms of the context, that it is always a question of proximity and degree. The issue is especially problematic when a claim is made on behalf of a positive freedom—a right that always requires governmental action. Many of the post–World War II bills of rights have included an individual’s right to such things as decent housing, basic education, and health care, but governments always struggle with the allocation of limited resources. They frequently cannot fund one of those rights without denying funds to another important objective. Additionally, courts lack the means to require legislative and executive agencies compliance. This is true even in the wealthiest of nations. Several state constitutions in the United States, for example, require equal education of all their children. The courts of those states have been uniformly unsuccessful in enforcing the state constitutional provisions requiring equal educational opportunities. The nature and scope of negative freedoms enumerated in a bill of rights also remain indeterminate. For example, if it is generally assumed that the exercise of a right must be evaluated in context, activities permitted in peaceful times may legitimately be restricted in times of war. What then is the extent of an individual’s right during such prolonged conflicts as the Cold War or the War on Terrorism? Should the U.S. courts interpret the First Amendment’s guarantee of the freedom of the press to protect a journalist’s sources when the government is concerned about security leaks? If not, how is the press to scrutinize and criticize governmental activity, the very reason that freedom of the press was deemed so fundamental as to be enshrined in the bill of rights?

■ ■ ■ absolute: complete, pure, free from restriction or limitation

C O N C LU S I O N

Bills of rights are significant for several reasons. Historically, their development and spread indicate an ever-increasing worldwide recognition of the importance of human rights. At the very least, such articulations of rights provide a standard of the freedoms human beings are entitled to enjoy within a particular country. The existence of that standard enables the citizens of a country to evaluate and contest governmental policies: Are they supporting, restricting, or extending individual G O V E R N M E N T S

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rights? The post–World War II international agreements are an effort to extend such standards, to say that there is a global consensus that everyone, simply by virtue of their shared humanity, ought to enjoy certain fundamental rights regardless of where they reside. In other words, the human species has come to be defined largely in terms of individual rights. Functionally, bills of rights provide much of the substance of contemporary politics. Both nationally and internationally, policies are proposed and opposed in terms of whether they advance or retard positive freedoms such as health, education, freedom from want, and so on. Similarly, groups are mobilized and resources are raised to protect individual rights such as religious freedom and racial equality within the confines of a single nation or globally. As a result, in the last analysis, the effectiveness of a bill of rights is grounded in societal values. The matters to be included depend on a popular consensus. A bill of rights deals with governmental action. Governments will advance only those positive freedoms that have widespread public support, for there are always competing uses for public resources. Similarly, individual freedoms will be protected from government encroachment only so long as there is general public agreement that such rights are fundamental. Courts can enforce the provisions of a bill of rights in the short term, but absent a societal consensus, judicial decisions cannot overcome societal hostility or indifference. As Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) said, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance” (Bartlett 1980, 397). See also: Constitutions and Constitutionalism. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartlett, John. Familiar Quotations, 15th ed. Boston: Little Brown, 1980. Brant, Irving. The Bill of Rights: Its Origin and Meaning. New York: Mentor Books, 1965. Epp, Charles E. The Rights Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Reed, Akhil. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000. Rutland, Robert Allen. The Birth of the Bill of Rights, 1776–1791. New York: Collier Books, 1962. Smith, Christopher E. Constitutional Rights: Myths and Realities. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004. Sunstein, Cass R. The Second Bill of Rights: FDR’s Unfinished Revolution. New York: Basic Books, 2004. Tate, Neal C., and Torbjorn Vallinder. The Global Expansion of Judicial Power. New York: New York University Press, 1997. U.S. Congress. Annals of Congress. 1st Cong., 1st sess., 1789. Vol. I: 457.

Martin Edelman

Bolivia Prior to independence in 1825, Bolivia was part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Lima, established to extract the rich mineral resources of the Andes. After the defeat of the Spanish, fighting among regional elites led to Bolivia’s separation from Peru. Bolivia, which takes its name from the liberation hero Simon Bolívar (1783–1830), is among Latin America’s most geographically fragmented countries. Mountain ranges slash through the western half of the country, with some

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P A R A G U A Y Bolivia

La Quiaca

C H I L E

A R G E N T I N A

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

peaks exceeding 12,000 feet. In the east is the Amazon rainforest, to the south the dry lowland Chaco. Despite its large area—1.1 million square kilometers (683.540 square miles)—only 8.7 million people live in Bolivia, producing a population density of only eight persons per square kilometer. After independence Bolivia had the largest indigenous population of the newly independent states. To this day indigenous and nonindigenous Bolivians live mainly in separate worlds, speaking distinct languages. In 2002 indigenous peoples comprised 66 percent of the total population. In the densely populated highlands, Indians belong either to the Quechua or Aymara groups, which comprise 35 and 25 percent of Bolivia’s total population, respectively. Among the Aymara are approximately thirty thousand Afro-Bolivians, whose ancestors were brought to work in the mines. In the eastern lowlands indigenous communities are more isolated and diverse: 286,726 Indians are divided into more than thirty distinct language groups. Although historically the indigenous have been predominantly rural, massive urban migration in the 1990s resulted in more than half the population residing in cities in 2001. Bolivia ranks among Latin America’s and the world’s poorest countries, with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of U.S.$1,000 in 2002. Social indicators are comparable to those for sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in 2002 Bolivia had relatively low levels of adult literacy (87%, with 81% of those illiterates being women) and high rates of infant mortality (69 per 1,000 live births). That year 63 percent of Bolivians lived below the national poverty line. Social and economic indicators are consistently worse than the regional average. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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■ ■ ■ landlocked: sharing no border with a body of water

Bolivia’s landlocked status since the end of the War of the Pacific in 1870, when it lost its coastline to Chile, constrains economic development. There are no navigable rivers, and dramatic changes in altitude make road building extremely costly. Thus, it is difficult for Bolivia to participate in international markets. Whereas most countries in Latin America have become primarily urban and semiindustrialized, Bolivia continues to be primarily rural and few modern industries exist. The most important export in the 1990s was coca leaf, which is grown in Bolivia legally for personal use as a mild stimulant and used in indigenous cultural activities. It is illegally exported to neighboring countries, converted into cocaine, and sold around the world. Abundant natural gas reserves, yet to be developed, hold out some hope as a future source of revenue. But with few resources of its own, and vested interests inhibiting the development of private enterprise, Bolivia is heavily dependent on foreign aid. In 2002 its total outstanding debt was U.S.$4,535 million, the majority owed to multilateral development and financial institutions.

POLITICAL HISTORY coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

nationalization: the process of giving control or ownership of an entity to the government

junta: a group of individuals holding power, especially after seizing control as a result of a coup

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Bolivia has had one of the most tumultuous political histories in Latin America, with frequent coups interrupting brief periods of elected civilian rule. After decades of violence among rival elites, in 1898 a centralized, or unitary, presidential political system finally was established and based in La Paz, although Sucre remains the formal capital and seat of the judicial system. The contemporary fragmentation and personalism (that is, the emphasis on charismatic personalities rather than ideologies) of Bolivia’s political party system are rooted in this period of instability and violence. A system of patronclient relations, in which material favors are exchanged for political support also dates to this period, and continues to motivate and dominate Bolivian political life. Access to government jobs and resources is the driving force of politics. The small, middle-class, urban elite is dependent on politics, given the lack of professional opportunities in the weak private sector. The growth of the intellectual Left during the 1920s, combined with the increasing political awareness of the excluded indigenous majority and urban working classes, fueled the rise of leftist parties and facilitated the formation of the first mass-based political party, the National Revolutionary Movement, known by its Spanish acronym MNR. The MNR joined with the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) to champion the cause of the mineworkers, who built the country’s strongest union in the 1940s. The MNR also drew considerable support from a middle class that had diminishing faith in a governing elite which had lost the Chaco War (1932–1935) and extensive territory to Paraguay. In 1951 the military government prevented the MNR from assuming power after its electoral win. In response the MNR armed indigenous peasants and workers and seized control, ushering in one of the most important social revolutions in Latin America. To reward its supporters, the MNR government nationalized the country’s tin mines, enfranchised the illiterate majority, abolished labor servitude, and allowed highland peasants to reoccupy and gain title to millions of acres of land that had been confiscated by the landed elite during previous generations. During this period the ruling party organized the peasantry into a dense network of peasant unions. Conflict between the more radical union movement and more conservative politicians weakened the MNR coalition, led by founding party leader Victor Paz Estenssoro (1907–2001). In 1964 a military junta led by General René Barrientos Ortuño (1919–1969) took advantage of internal divisions to overthrow the MNR. This military coup occurred at the same time that militaries were ousting civilians G O V E R N M E N T S

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in neighboring Argentina and Brazil. Barrientos rewrote the Bolivian constitution in 1967, incorporating a provision that prohibits the writing of a new constitution. Instead, proposed reforms must be approved by two successive legislatures, making reform extremely difficult in Bolivia’s volatile political system. Repression against political dissidents increased after a coup by General Hugo Banzer (1926–2002) in 1971. In 1977 the wives of laid-off miners led a hunger strike that solidified widespread opposition to the regime and forced Banzer to step down and hold elections. But Bolivia’s transition to democratic elections was far from smooth. Between 1978 and 1982 three sets of elections were held. Each time a leftist coalition won, the military aborted the electoral process. Finally, in 1982 democracy was restored when the reseated 1980 congress elected the leader of the leftist Democratic Popular Unity (UDP) coalition, Hernán Siles Zuazo (1914–1996). Siles inherited an economy in crisis because of Banzer’s mismanagement and a massive and rapidly increasing foreign debt. The UDP government’s leftist policies exacerbated the situation, resulting in one of the worst bouts of inflation in world history—more than 20,000 percent in 1985. Siles was forced to resign and call new elections. The only important political party to survive the military interregnum was the MNR, the party that led the 1952 Bolivian Revolution. A variety of leftist parties

UROS LIVING ON REEDS DUBBED “FLOATING ISLANDS” IN LAKE TITICACA.

is shared by Bolivia and Peru.

■ ■ ■ dissident: one who disagrees with the actions or political philosophy of his or her government or religion

interregnum: the period of time between the reigns of two successive monarchs

The ancient Uro people rely on tourism on Lake Titicaca, which

(SOURCE: © PILAR OLIVARES/REUTERS/CORBIS)

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split off the MNR; the center-left Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) was the most important. Banzer, the former dictator, renounced authoritarianism and formed a center-right party, National Democratic Action (ADN). Between 1985 and 2003 power rotated between three major parties—the MNR, ADN, and MIR, creating an equilibrated party system with the main axis of competition among the three largest parties, which formed short-term patronage-based alliances with smaller parties. The fluidity of these alliances has made Bolivian politics quite pragmatic. The cost has been the increasing disaffection of the electorate, which often sees their political leaders sell out their constituencies for government jobs. All governments since 1985 have supported a package of economic austerity and structural adjustment prescribed by international donors. As a result, Bolivia’s economic stability and growth were restored, but high levels of poverty and inequality continued. In response militant labor and peasant movements developed to demand greater attention to their needs. Although organized labor never recovered from the structural adjustment of the mid-1980s, by that time the MNR’s dependent network of peasant organizations had evolved into a dynamic, cohesive, independent peasant movement. Most analysts date the construction of the movement to a 1974 government massacre of Quechua Indians protesting agricultural policies (the Tolata Massacre). Thereafter an emerging class of Aymara intellectuals formed independent peasant organizations and political parties that challenged the traditional dominance and manipulation of the traditional parties and the military. Most took the name of Tupaj Katari, an Aymara Indian rebel leader of the late eighteenth century who, before his execution, vowed to return “made into millions,” that is, into millions of indigenous rebels, and developed an ideology that combined struggles against ethnic and class oppression. The most important contemporary highland indigenous organization is the Bolivian Unitary Syndical Confederation of Peasant Workers (CSUTCB), established in 1979. As the political effectiveness of the CSUTCB declined in the late 1980s, a new force within the peasant sector emerged. The coca growers were mainly migrants from the highlands dislocated after the government fired state mineworkers and imposed structural adjustment policies that hurt peasant agriculture. Under pressure from the U.S. government to crack down on coca growing, which had dramatically increased during 1983 and 1984, in 1986

authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

austere: extremely stern; simple and undecorated

■ ■ ■

T U PA J K ATA R I ( C . 1 7 5 0 – 1 7 8 1 ) Tupaj Katari (born Julián Apasa), leader of the indigenous Aymara people of Bolivia and Peru, gave his life fighting to free his people. He remains an inspiration to the Aymara, who continue to fight for autonomy more than two hundred years after his death. The Inca first conquered the Aymara around CE 1500 and by the mid–sixteenth century they were living under Spanish authority. Tupaj Katari (whose adopted name means “Standing Serpent” in the Aymara language), sick of colonial rule, organized a huge peasant army and besieged the Spanish colonial city of La Paz twice in 1781. As long as he was able to control access to the city, those who tried to

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escape were killed, and others died of starvation. During the second siege Katari’s forces dammed a river in an attempt to flood and destroy the city. Records indicate that one-fourth of the residents in La Paz died. Unable to take the city or ultimately to resist the Spanish military, Katari retreated to the mountains after each siege to plan a new attack. The second time he was betrayed and captured. Katari was tortured and executed by quartering for his rebellion, but his name lives on. Those who are active in Bolivia’s modern-day indigenous social movement are known as kataristas. Since the 1970s a number of political parties and at least one guerrilla group bear his name.

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the government announced a plan to eradicate all coca leaf grown for export. By the late 1990s there were hundreds of thousands of Quechua migrants in the Chapare and Yungas, the coca-growing areas of Cochabamba and La Paz, respectively. Growers in both regions formed more than 160 local unions, organized into ten federations. In 1988 the five Cochabamba federations formed a Coordinating Committee and seized control of the CSUTCB. A new set of leaders emerged. The most important was Evo Morales (b. 1959), who had migrated to the Chapare with his Aymara father and Quechua mother. Two new populist parties emerged in 1989 to appeal directly to the disaffected urban and rural poor: Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA) and the Civic Solidarity Union (UCS). Although they never controlled the presidency, both parties would be key players in governing coalitions that were a necessity in a system of five major parties. During the 1990s political parties established themselves as Bolivia’s most important political actors. Previously, parties had organized competition among the small middle-class elite for access to government jobs, but were a secondary source of political power, which was mainly wielded by corporate actors. The most important of these were the military and the labor movement, particularly the miners union. As both of these groups declined in the 1980s, political parties increased in importance as vehicles for the pursuit of political power. Under the Barrientos constitution—still in effect—if no party wins a majority of the vote, the new congress votes for the next president. The fragmentation of the party system has required all congresses since 1982 to decide the presidential election, a requirement that tends to exacerbate the propensity for party leaders to make access to patronage a priority, as they scramble to join the winning coalition. In 1993 Gonzalo “Goni” Sánchez de Lozada (b. 1930) assumed the presidency in a race that produced the most decisive victory since the return to democracy. The MNR leader won 35.6 percent of the vote through an unprecedented alliance with a tiny indigenous party led by Aymara linguist and political activist Víctor Hugo Cárdenas (b. 1951), the Tupaj Katari Revolutionary Movement of Liberation (MRTKL). The decisive victory produced a legislature dominated by the MNR and its coalition partners and enabled Sánchez de Lozada to oversee a wide range of constitutional reforms that modernized the state, depoliticized the judiciary, and decentralized political and administrative power to more than 300 new municipal governments.

■ ■ ■ eradicate: to destroy or eliminate a population of items, people, or other living things

populist: someone who advocates policies for the advancement of the common man

decentralize: to move power from a central authority to multiple periphery government branches or agencies

STRUCTURE OF THE GOVERNMENT

Since the reforms came into effect in 1995, the national legislature has had a 27-seat senate and a 130-seat lower chamber. Half the lower chamber is elected on a national party ticket; the other half represents particular geographic districts. Bolivia has a presidential, unitary political system, with nine departments, divided into 122 provinces and 314 municipalities. The president appoints departmental governors, while municipal councils elect provincial councilors, and directly elected municipal councilors choose municipal mayors. The MNR lost the 1997 elections to a coalition of the other two dominant parties: ADN and MIR. With only 20 percent of the vote—less than the rate of abstention (28%)—the former dictator Hugo Banzer was elected president. He stepped down in 2001 after being diagnosed with cancer and was succeeded by his young vice president, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga (b. 1960). The Banzer-Quiroga administration was plagued by levels of social protest and political violence that had not been witnessed since the tumultuous democratic transition. Between 2000 and 2002 Evo Morales, the coca growers leader elected to congress in 1997, and Felipe Quispe, head of the CSUTCB, G O V E R N M E N T S

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municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

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led a series of protests in favor of policies to help their constituents, protests that often resulted in violent confrontations with the police and military. In 2002 Morales and Quispe ran for president as leaders of new parties promising to represent the excluded majority, particularly the indigenous (Morales’s party first competed in 1995; Quispe’s in 2002). Morales finished second with 20.9 percent of the vote, behind Sánchez de Lozada with 22, while Quispe garnered 6.1 percent. Together, Morales and Quispe earned 27 percent—by far the best showing for indigenous parties. For the first time the three dominant parties united in order to prevent Morales’s election. The 2002 elections marked the end of the equilibrated five-party system in effect since 1989. The combined vote for the five major parties dropped to 48 percent in 2002, with the main three winning only 42.2 percent. These results indicate that the Bolivian party system, like many in South America in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has experienced dealignment (a marked shift in political loyalties, which has meant the loss of support for once-popular political parties). HUMAN RIGHTS

According to Freedom House, a New York–based non-governmental organization that compiles information on all countries with respect to civil liberties, Bolivia has been consistently ranked as a “free” country since the return to democracy in 1982, earning a rating since 1999 of 1 for political rights and 3 for the exercise of civil liberties (on a 1 to 7 scale, with 1 being the best possible score). These relatively high scores belie a series of repressive actions by the government against indigenous, peasant, and other protestors, particularly since 2000, when a series of coordinated protests paralyzed the country in April and September. During three weeks of nationwide mobilizations in September and October of 2003, in which a wide cross-section of Bolivians demanded the resignation of President Sánchez de Lozada, the military and police killed at least fifty-nine people, most of them unarmed, according to Bolivian human rights groups. The president was forced to flee the country and was replaced by his vice president, Carlos Mesa (b. 1953), on October 17. The government’s propensity to use violence is associated in particular with the effort to eradicate coca leaf. Between 1997 and 2002 more than forty people died, five hundred were wounded, and approximately four hundred were detained during clashes between the government and coca growers. After fifteen years of relative political stability, Bolivia’s political institutions show increasing signs of strain. BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. “Bolivia.” Report 2005. New York: Amnesty International, 2005. ⬍http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/bol-summary-eng⬎. Freedom House. “Bolivia.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org⬎. Gamarra, Eduardo A. and James M. Malloy. “The Patrimonial Dynamics of Party Politics in Bolivia.” In Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America, ed. Scott Mainwaring and Timothy Scully. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995. Human Rights Watch. ⬍http://www.hrw.org⬎. Klein, Herbert. Bolivia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society, 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1992. Malloy, James M. and Eduardo A. Gamarra. Revolution and Reaction: Bolivia 1964–1985. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1988.

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Van Cott, Donna Lee. The Friendly Liquidation of the Past: The Politics of Diversity in Latin America. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. Van Cott, Donna Lee. “Bolivia: The Construction of a Multicultural Democracy.” In Latin American Politics and Development, 5th ed., ed. Howard J. Wiarda and Harvey F. Kline. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000.

Donna Lee Van Cott

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeast Europe. Its population of approximately 4 million consists primarily of three major ethnic and religious groups: Bosniak Muslims (48%), Serb Orthodox (34%), and Croat Catholics (15%). Bosnia was ruled by the Ottomans for four centuries (1463–1878), then becoming part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1878–1914). After World War II (1939–1945) Bosnia became a component of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under the communist leader Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980). The rise to power of the nationalist Serb Slobodan Milosevic (b. 1941) in 1986 was a key factor leading to ethnic strife and the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. After the secession of Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnia held a referendum and declared its independence on April 5, 1992. However, Bosnian Serb leaders, desiring union with neighboring Serbia to create an ethnically pure territory, formed paramilitary groups to partition Bosnia and conducted what became known as ethnic cleansing—the massacre and expulsion of Bosniaks and Croats. Fighting broke out between Croats and Bosniaks as well, engulfing Bosnia in four years of devastating war during which some 250,000 people perished. The conflict ended on December 14, 1995, with the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace, brokered by international powers led by the United States. The agreement included a constitution that created a democratic government designed to protect both individual rights and the group interests of the three constituent peoples: Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. As of 2004 Bosnia had a small central state structure and two entities: the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republika Srpska. Powers of the central state include foreign policy, trade and customs policy, monetary policy, and inter-entity law enforcement. The state is headed by a tripartite presidency, consisting of one Bosniak and one Croat, directly elected by citizens of the Federation, and one Serb directly elected by citizens of the Republika Srpska. The presidency conducts foreign policy, signs treaties, appoints ambassadors, proposes the annual budget to parliament, and exercises civilian command over the armed forces. The presidency nominates the chair of the Council of Ministers, who then appoints additional ministers, subject to parliamentary approval. The Council proposes laws to the parliament and implements policies on matters within the jurisdiction of the state. The Parliamentary Assembly consists of two houses: the House of Representatives, representing the electorate of each entity, and the House of Peoples, representing the three constituent peoples. The entities are responsible for finance, commercial and social matters, and general legislation. Each has a directly elected presidency, a government headed by a prime minister, and a legislative assembly. The federation is further divided into ten cantons (territorial divisions) with broad responsibility for local governance. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others secede: to break away from, especially politically referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative paramilitary: modeled after a military, especially as a possible supplement to the military

tripartite: involving three parties, especially in negotiations

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

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Hutovo Neum Bosnia & Herzegovina

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Zavala

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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

■ ■ ■ popular mandate: authorization granted by the electorate, derived from the support of at least the majority

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary and incorporates the guarantees of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly, religion, and movement, the right to a fair trial and nondiscrimination. In reality, continued ethnic division often results in discrimination against minority populations, in particular in areas of refugee return, and in ethnic, rather than public, interests dominating politics at all levels. Ten years after the conflict, war criminals remain at large, often with the support of political-criminal networks, while thousands of investigated war crimes have yet to come to trial. Justice is further impaired by weak law enforcement institutions heavily subject to political influence. Bosnia’s stability since the war has largely resulted from the presence of international troops and the Office of the High Representative, an international organization charged with implementing the peace agreement. The High Representative has the power to enact or rescind legislation and to remove from power those who seek to undermine the peace. Although designed to secure the peace, these powers are wielded in the absence of a popular mandate by the citizens. Bosnia, among the poorest countries in Europe, aspires to join the European Union (EU). See also: Ethnic Cleansing; Serbia and Montenegro.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Bose, Sumantra, Bosnia after Dayton: Nationalist Partition and International Intervention. London: C. Hurst & Co., 2002. Freedom House. “Bosnia and Herzegovinia.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/ countryratings/bosnia.htm⬎. Friedman, Francine. Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Polity on the Brink. New York: Routledge, 2004. General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ⬍http://www. ohr.int⬎. Holbrooke, Richard. To End a War. New York: Random House, 1998. Malcolm, Noel. Bosnia: A Short History. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Silber, Laura and Allan Little. Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation. New York: Penguin Books, 1997. United States Department of State. Background Note: Bosnia and Herzegovina. ⬍http://www.state.gov⬎.

Deborah Isser

Botswana Botswana is a nation of 1.5 million people occupying just over 600,000 square kilometers (231,600 square miles) in southern Africa, surrounded by South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its developmental path and achievements are exceptional. During the nineteenth century, a small group of indigenous people gained control of the country’s cattle, the lands on which the cattle ran, and supervision of the workers on those lands. This elite group used this control to extend their individual ownership of productive resources. A growing state system developed, too, on this basis prior to the colonial period.

■ ■ ■ indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

The term kgosi describes a “chief ” and a “rich man.” Unlike Kenneth Kaunda (1924–1991), a peddler of used clothes who became the first president of the newly independent Zambia in 1964, or Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere (1922–1999), who was a school teacher before obtaining high office at independence in 1961, members of the rising Botswana elite possessed both wealth and power. They had a stake in the country’s economy and the interests and experience that were required to further capitalist development. In an economy and society increasingly based on private ownership, their positions of power inevitably involved the subordination of others, including many of the losers in the acquisitions race. Precolonial Botswana was a highly inequitable society. According to a Setswana proverb, “no man was another man’s equal,” and the existence of beggars was accepted as normal by the wealthy and the rest of society. A strictly hierarchical society developed, with aristocrats and other rich men at the top, advising and assisting the chief—perhaps competing with him—and poor commoners and serfs at the bottom. The poor were obliged to render any service that the chief demanded of them. Serfs (largely San/Bushmen people) and some related communities such as the Bakgalagadi lived in conditions that approached slavery. The formal institution of serfdom was abolished during colonialism by Great Britain in the 1930s, but its effects persisted for years afterward, manifesting as inculcated attitudes of acute dependency among the affected peoples. G O V E R N M E N T S

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aristocracy: a ruling financial, social, or political elite

serf: a peasant, or laborer under the feudal system, who worked the land of the feudal lord

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■ ■ ■ protectorate: a territory or country under the protection of another sovereign country’s military

The San were the first people of Botswana and southern Africa; scientific evidence dates their occupation from about forty thousand years before the twenty-first century. Their loss of autonomy, land, and other resources facilitated the accumulation of wealth and power by the Tswana leadership. Colonialism in Botswana, a protectorate system, was a process of collaboration between the indigenous elite and their colonial counterparts. For the Tswana, British power protected them from Afrikaner encroachments from South Africa to the south and German and Portuguese interference from the west and east. In turn, the British valued the social control wielded by Tswana leaders as well as their commercial agricultural pursuits. Colonial occupation constituted, for the embryonic nation, some seventy years of benign neglect. The local elite were free to extend their control over cattle production even further; for example, they would employ techniques such as borehole technology to create new water sources and then assert ownership of the surrounding lands. As the country approached independence, Seretse Khama (1921–1980), the country’s founding father, was the biggest local cattle owner, and his close associate, Ketumile Masire (b. 1925), was socially well-placed and rising fast. The

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Central Kalahari Game Reserve

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transfer of power in 1965 and 1966 from British officials Peter Fawcus (1915–2003) and Alan Tilbury (b. 1925) to Khama and Masire was as smooth as it was painless. No popular nationalist movement ever existed. The transition to an independent state occurred entirely at the elite level, among an apolitical electorate. It was a poor country, led by a few rich men.

T H E G R O W T H E C O N O M Y: D I A M O N D W E A LT H W I T H O U T D I V E R S I F I C AT I O N

The creation of a growth economy has been a prominent characteristic of Botswana since 1966. It began as one of the poorest countries in the world, with few paved roads, a small capital city, no university, and a per capita income of some $70 annually. But over the three decades from 1966 to 1997, it achieved the highest sustained growth rate in the world, surpassing even the bursting economies of East Asia. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it had become one of just five sub-Saharan African countries to be classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country, with an estimated gross per capita income of $8,000. The diamond industry, which developed between 1970 and 1980, was the basis of this phenomenal growth. The exploitation of diamonds and the management of the revenues deriving from them has been a high priority for the Botswana government. The figures are astonishing. In the early 2000s, diamonds constituted some 45 percent of the total gross domestic product, 65 percent of government revenue, and more than 80 percent of export earnings. Of all foreign direct investment entering the country, some 90 percent is commanded by mining. Jwaneng was reputedly the world’s most profitable diamond mine at the start of the twenty-first century, with an annual income of $1.5 billion; three other mines, at Orapa, Letlhakane, and Damtshaa, also contributed to total output. Yet another potential mine has been found at Gope, inside the protected lands of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Whether this mine will be developed depends on the world price for the gems and the outcome of the government’s strained negotiations with the San people who live in the reserve. Although the diamond industry has fueled the economy, related factors such as the cost of mining the diamonds and managing the revenues derived from them, a strong currency, high international reserves, and the country’s open economy have stunted the development of a manufacturing sector in Botswana and led to the decline of domestic agriculture. Botswana exports rough diamonds, and the government has decided to utilize their direct and indirect earnings to import almost everything else. The country’s planners made this decision because Botswana’s neighbors South Africa and Zimbabwe both have strong and stable agricultural capacities. In Botswana, by 2001 agriculture constituted just 4 percent of the gross domestic product. Over 40 percent of the rural population no longer farmed, and less than 30 percent owned cattle, the established basis of rural well-being, thus placing them in a precarious position. Likewise, manufacturing, an industry in which long-term jobs could be established and skills potentially obtained, had remained flat from 1966 to 2001.

■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

F R E E B U T U N FA I R M U LT I PA R T Y P O L I T I C S

Since independence, Botswana has had an open, multiparty system, with regular, free, but not very fair elections. In a continental environment of single-party systems, military dictatorships, and apartheid, this system is both unusual and judicious. Liberal, representative democracy is complemented and supported by G O V E R N M E N T S

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apartheid: an official policy of racial segregation in the Republic of South Africa with a goal of promoting and maintaining white domination

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■ ■ ■ authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

duopoly: a political system dominated by two political parties, or a market dominated by two firms

coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

some decidedly authoritarian, elitist features. The president, the executive head of state, is not directly elected by the people but is chosen from among the forty or so members of the National Assembly. The limitation of the president’s tenure to two four-year terms was introduced in the late 1990s. The president appoints and dismisses cabinet members from among the members of the assembly and is constitutionally empowered to make solo decisions—no consultation is required. The president exercises direct control over the bureaucracy, the military, police, the anticorruption agency, and the flow of official—and sometimes unofficial—information. Khama was succeeded in smooth transition by his vice president Masire, and he, in turn, was followed in the same way by Festus Mogae ( b. 1939) in 1998. All three simultaneously served as state presidents and leaders of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), their political power compounded by this duopoly of power. The BDP has always won the state’s free elections, in which the ruling party has invariably been the wealthiest and best organized of the competitors. No other party has come even close to winning an election. Such party predominance under democratic conditions has also existed in other countries: in Japan under the Liberal Democrats, in Italy under the Christian Democrats, and, perhaps most notably, in Sweden under the Social Democrats. However, the longevity and extent of the BDP’s predominance is unique, as alternative governments and coalitions have occasionally appeared in each of the other three countries. This party supremacy highlights the limitations of Botswana’s form of liberal democracy and the elitist and authoritarian tendencies therein, but it also shows the decided advantages of an open, competitive, electoral system to the rulers in conferring legitimacy on them and offering long-term stability in government. Free and open elections not only incorporate the mass of the voters in an orderly way in politics, but also confirm for members of the elite that they represent real authority and stability. Once the wealthy have used their advantages to get themselves elected, they acquire power mandated by the people that no president for life, Great Helmsman, or other dictator could possibly achieve.

DEMOCRACY WITHOUT A CREDIBLE OPPOSITION

Some of the weaknesses in Botswana’s liberal democracy derive from the undiversified nature of its growth economy and others from its elitist, wealthoriented culture and history. Opposition parties are generally small in size and poorly organized. Some are merely vehicles for the egocentrism of their leader, as it is almost as easy to form a political party, local journalists have wryly observed, as to obtain a loan to purchase a car. The party chief obtains immediate status and may be invited to accompany the president on state visits abroad. The opposition is also divided among itself. Nevertheless, two parties stand out as stronger than the rest in the twenty-first century. Of these, by far the older and better known nationally is the Botswana National Front (BNF), which, under the leadership of Kenneth Koma, had a decades-long record of failure in national elections. The closest it came to victory under Koma was in 1994, when it ran an unusually effective campaign under the slogan “Time for a Change,” and won a respectable 37 percent of the popular vote. Under the simple-majority electoral system, this showing earned the BNF thirteen seats in the assembly of forty popularly elected members. The BDP, which received 55 percent of the vote, obtained thirty-one seats in parliament. Rather than consolidating these gains, however, the BNF became embroiled in vicious leadership disputes, wherein almost the entire parliamentary

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representation broke away to form a new Botswana Congress Party (BCP), disillusioned with the “monocracy” of Koma. In national elections of 1999, the BNF received just 25 percent of the total vote, and the BCP received 11 percent. The BCP in the twenty-first century possesses a young and educated leadership, but it is far from establishing itself among the voters as the leading opposition force or as a viable alternative to the existing government. T H E A B S E N C E O F PA R T I C I PA T O R Y F O R M A T I O N S

Low voter turnout at elections has seriously hampered the opposition parties but has not similarly disturbed the ruling BDP. In the 1999 election, for example, after the debacle between the BNF and BCP, only some 42 percent of eligible voters bothered to go to the polls. This was no aberration. For an important national referendum a little earlier, which proposed belated reforms such as the lowering of the voting age to eighteen years, the introduction of absentee voting, and the establishment of an independent electoral commission, turnout was about 18 percent. This poor electoral participation is largely the result of the BDP’s predominance—why bother to vote when the outcome is always the same? But an element of “positive abstension” is also present: a rejection by some people of the endlessly divided opposition as well as of the dominant BDP. In either case, it is the ruling party that benefits. Botswana, President Mogae commented not long after the 1999 vote, is proud of its dull elections. Civil society is itself small and weak in the undiversified, diamond-rich economy. Diamond mining in Botswana is a highly capital-intensive, technologically based process which employed about six thousand workers in 2003. Food and beverage processing and fragile-textiles manufacturing have failed to encourage the growth of a skilled and permanent urbanized workforce. The government is the largest employer, and it has constrained the rights of its employees to form trade unions or to speak out. Neighboring South Africa vividly shows the association that exists between industrialization, urbanization, the growth of communications, and the development of popular voluntary associations. In the early 1990s some forty thousand civic groups in South Africa served as the real basis for the democratization then underway; Botswana possessed fewer than one hundred similar organizations. Those groups that do exist, moreover, are strongly

■ ■ ■ democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives

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SIR SERETSE KHAMA (1921–1980) As the founding president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama inherited an impoverished nation and turned it into a democracy with economic promise based on the diamond trade. Khama was born in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (now Botswana). His grandfather, Khama III, had been chief of the Bangwato people and had gone to the British government in 1885 seeking protection from invaders (the agents of Cecil Rhodes and the South African Boers). Britain, therefore, had authority over Bechuanaland. After receiving a B.A. from Fort Hare College (South Africa), Khama went to England to study law, and there he met Ruth Williams, a white woman, whom he married in 1948.

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Their interracial marriage upset both Khama’s black elders and white settler politicians in neighboring South Africa who urged Britain to take away Khama’s chieftainship, arguing that he had violated the law forbidding such marriages. Britain exiled him from Bechuanaland, but, criticized internationally for its racist decision, relented, and Khama was eventually allowed to return home. In 1962 Khama formed the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, which called for self-governance. When Bechuanaland gained independence from Britain in 1966 it became Botswana, and Khama was made president. He died in office after twice winning re-election.

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encouraged to accommodate themselves closely to existing government policy and to avoid a critical approach. S I L E N C E A N D N O N A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y

Botswana depends on the media and the judiciary to hold government officials accountable in these difficult circumstances. When a series of corruption and mismanagement scandals arose in the early 1990s, focused on senior ministers including President Masire and then–Vice President Peter Mmusi, the government’s reaction was not to explain and assign accountability but rather to condemn questioning journalists for engaging in witch-hunts and for fostering a culture of abuse. The media inquiries apparently undermined the position and immunity of the ruling elite to whom the ordinary person was expected to defer. Although a furor raged for several weeks in the towns, after an anticorruption agency was created and the BNF gained a substantial number of votes during the 1994 national elections, amnesia and dullness were restored. The independent commercial press in 2004 retained a certain democratic vigor and public-spiritedness, however. Most newspapers are published weekly and rely

A BUSHMAN STANDS WITH OTHER PROTESTORS IN FRONT OF LONDON’S DE BEERS’ JEWELRY SHOWROOM ON OCTOBER 5, 2004. Considered southern Africa’s earliest inhabitants, the Bushmen, or San, live on the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana. The government began ordering the Bushmen off the reserve, claiming the removal is related to restoring the park, although there has been speculation that the true intention is to allow diamond companies to search the land. (SOURCE: © ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

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heavily on advertising revenue for their survival. The country’s major daily newspaper, on the other hand, is owned by the government and distributed nationally free of charge, and both Radio Botswana and Botswana Television are largely government mouthpieces. Both the constraints on free expression and the vital need for it have been repeatedly demonstrated. In 1999 the country’s ombudsman, or public protector, Lethebe Maine, called for the establishment of a Freedom of Information Act. The right to complain and raise issues, he said, must be fully available to all citizens.

■ ■ ■ ombudsman: a government official that researches the validity of complaints and reports his findings to an authority

When the editor of the Botswana Guardian, Outsa Mokone, ran a front-page story on relations between President Mogae and his vice president, the president himself reacted by issuing a directive that placed an effective ban on advertising in the Guardian and its sister weekly, The Midweek Sun. But Mokone stood his ground and declared accurately that Botswana suffered from a “battered wife syndrome,” in which journalists and others made excuses for the mistakes of the leaders out of fear of seeming disrespectful. The reality, according to Mokone, was that the media had great responsibility: “The political opposition is fragmented and weak. The parliamentary watchdog role has been eroded . . . [and] the civil society is small and still developing” (Mokone 2000, p. 4). The importance of a free press was upheld by the judiciary in September 2001, when Justice Felix Lesetedi affirmed that freedom of expression was fundamental to democracy and that a free media was a large part of this. He declared that government must accept a higher level of scrutiny than the ordinary person and that the chief executive should be tolerant of criticism because of his high office and responsibilities. In his decision, Lesetedi terminated the ban on the two newspapers. Despite government dominance over public media and serious public health problems caused by AIDS, which infects one-third of the population, Botswana’s citizens live in a country that Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2004 rated as “free.”

C O N C LU S I O N

The Botswana government has achieved high economic growth and the status of an upper-middle-class country from which many citizens benefit, but the sole focus on the diamond industry has come at the expense of a lack of diversification and the accompanying weakness of civil society. The country’s overreliance on diamonds has sacrificed broad-based development. Inequalities and poverty persist in a country that has the capacity to reduce them. Definite but limited advances have been won by an elitist, authoritarian, and dominant party government, and an active, effective democracy has yet to be achieved. See also: Freedom of Expression; Freedom of the Press; Liberal Democracy; Ombudsmen.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Botswana.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bc.html⬎. Darnolf, Staffan, and John D. Holm. “Democracy Without a Credible Opposition: The Case of Botswana.” The Journal of African Policy Studies 5, nos. 2 & 3 (1999):3–33. Fawcus, Peter, and Alan Tilbury. Botswana: The Road to Independence. Gaborone, Botswana: Pula Press and the Botswana Society, 2000. Freedom House. “Botswana.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/ botswana.htm⬎.

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Good, Kenneth. “Enduring Elite Democracy.” In The Resilience of Democracy, ed. Peter Burnell and Peter Calvert. London: Frank Cass, 1999. Good, Kenneth. “Rethinking Non-Accountability and Corruption in Botswana.” Africa Insight 32, no. 3 (2002):11–18. Holm, John D., Patrick Molutsi, and Gloria Somolekae. “The Development of Civil Society in a Democratic State.” African Studies Review 39, no. 2 (1996):43–69. Miers, Suzanne, and Michael Crowder. “The Politics of Slavery in Bechuanaland.” In The End of Slavery in Africa, ed. Suzanne Miers and Richard Roberts. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988.

Kenneth Good

Brazil

■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and South America. At 8,456,510 square kilometers (3,286,470 square miles), it is larger than the continental United States and comprises almost half of the South American landmass. Brazil shares borders with all of the countries in South America except Chile and Ecuador, yet its only coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. It encompasses the vast Amazon River basin, the largest rain forest in the world. Given its size, its climate varies tremendously, from the temperate south to the tropical north. Brazil’s population reached 177 million in 2003, making it the fifth most populous country in the world. São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, has a population of almost 19 million. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of U.S.$500 billion in 2002, its per capita income stood at only $2,820. COLONIAL PERIOD

indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

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Brazil is a product of sixteenth-century European commercial expansion. It is unique among Latin American countries, however, in that it was colonized and settled by Portugal. Although this uniqueness has affected Brazilian development in some ways, its political, economic, and social development has followed the pattern of most other Latin American countries. Brazil was discovered in 1500 by the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvars Cabral (c. 1468–1520). Attempting to round Africa on his way to India, Cabral journeyed so far west that he sighted Brazil and landed in Bahia. Portugal’s colonization of the area was essentially defensive; it encountered no great native civilizations or wealth, as did the Spanish elsewhere in Latin America. Portuguese colonization was slow and relied on native slavery, which soon became difficult to impose because of the natives’ resistance and the large number of indigenous people who succumbed to European diseases. Portugal began to import African slaves, who became the country’s major source of labor, a development that has defined Brazil to this day. Consciousness of a Brazilian identity first emerged with the aborted Inconfidencia Mineira rebellion in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, in 1789. José Joaquim da Silva Xavier, nicknamed Tirandentes (tooth puller), planned a rebellion to establish a republic in Brazil, forgive debts, abolish the standing army, and free all slaves born in Brazil. In many ways, this rebellion mimicked those in North America and the Spanish colonies, but it was nipped in the bud by the authorities. This uprising was limited to the local region, however, with no duplication elsewhere in Brazil. It would take another century before such a movement truly solidified across the country.

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Unlike much of Spanish America, Brazil did not gain its independence through a war. While the Spanish-American colonies were fighting Spain, Brazil was hosting the Portuguese monarchy who had fled from the occupying forces of the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) between 1807 and 1821. When King Dom João VI (1767–1826) finally returned to Portugal, his son Dom Pedro (1798–1834) opted to stay in Brazil and ultimately supported Brazilian autonomy. In 1823 he became Emperor Dom Pedro I. FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC

Both the first and second empires saw great economic progress with the opening of free trade and the cultivation of coffee, but Brazilian politics were highly contentious over the issues of republicanism and slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1888; shortly thereafter, the First Republic was established in 1889. The First Republic was a highly federal system, and it has left an indelible mark on Brazilian political development. The national government was held captive to coalitions of the member state’s elite. For most of its existence (1890–1930), the First Republic was dominated by representatives from the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. This pattern of political development brought Brazil more in line with the rest of the Latin American states, most of

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Vitória Pico da Bandeira 9,482 ft./2890 m.

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federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently

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■ ■ ■ free trade: exchange of goods without tariffs charged on importing or exporting

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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

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whom by this time had set up their own oligarchic republics, in which the forces of centralization and federalism vied for dominance.

centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority

G E T U L I O VA R G A S A N D T H E E S TA D O N O V O

populist: someone who advocates policies for the advancement of the common man

The crisis of the Great Depression created the conditions for the demise of the First Republic and ushered in a major transformation of Brazilian politics and government. In 1930, after a bitterly fought presidential election plagued by corruption, the military installed Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (1883–1954) as president. Vargas, who became a populist leader similar to Juan Perón (1895–1974) in Argentina, attempted to modernize and centralize the Brazilian national government and, more importantly, to begin the process of assimilating the Brazilian masses into the political system. Vargas’s Estado Novo also introduced importsubstitution industrialization to Brazil, a policy that continued until the 1980s, when it was replaced with an export-led model of economic growth. The end of World War II (1939–1945) led to the demise of the Estado Novo, but not the downfall of Vargas, at least not immediately. Brazil’s first national elections in fifteen years saw the voter turnout double. Politics in Brazil had changed dramatically in the interregnum—it had become less state-based and more national as candidates competed in national elections on behalf of national parties for the support of a national electorate. Vargas returned to politics in 1950 and won the presidency by an overwhelming majority vote. His democratic reign was marred by scandal, however; he subsequently committed suicide in 1954. FA I L U R E O F T H E D E M O C R A T I C E X P E R I M E N T A N D M I L I TA R Y D I C TA T O R S H I P

The Vargas presidency was followed by that of Juscelino Kubitschek (1902–1976) in 1956, whose administration saw high rates of growth and political stability. The Kubitschek regime might be called a develop-

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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FERNANDO HENRIQUE CARDOSO (B. 1931) As president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso invested heavily in human development programs. Under his leadership, infant mortality declined, school attendance rose, and housing and sanitation improved. In 2002 the United Nations recognized these achievements, honoring him with its Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Cardoso developed a left-ofcenter ideology while studying sociology. He earned his doctorate from the University of São Paulo in 1961. In 1964 the Brazilian government was overthrown in a military coup. Cardoso, facing imprisonment for his views, fled to Chile and became a sociology professor at the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning. During his exile he published the classic Dependency and Development in Latin America (written with Enzo Faletto, first edition 1969), calling

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for partnerships between government, civil society, and the private sector. This influential book became one of the founding texts of dependency theory. Cardoso eventually returned to Brazil and formed the centrist Brazilian Social Democratic Party, which achieved its goal of restoring democracy. He became Minister of the Treasury and was elected president of Brazil in 1994, taking office in January 1995 and serving until January 2003. As president, he followed a neoliberal economic policy that resulted in more, not less, dependence on centers of international finance and multinational corporations. Cardoso remains one of the most knowledgeable international figures in the areas of international development, dependency, democracy, social change, and state reform. He is a frequent participant in international academic conferences.

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mentalist regime in that it favored industrial growth and the building of an infrastructure. Kubitschek moved the capital city from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. Brasilia, a new city in the sparsely settled Brazilian hinterland that was built under the direction of noted architect Oscar Niemeyer (b. 1907) and planner Lúcio Costa (1902–1998), dramatically symbolized Brazil as an emerging power in South America and the world. The city was constructed in record time and inaugurated in 1960. In 1960 Janio Quadros (1917–1992) was elected to the presidency amid an economic crisis that had been brewing between Brazil and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Quadros resigned several months after taking office under mysterious circumstances and turned the country over to his vice president, João Goulart (1918–1976). Goulart, a populist in the mold of Vargas, took power during a period of heightened social and labor-related conflict. Industrial labor strikes became a daily occurrence, as did land seizures and guerilla insurgency. Perceived by the United States, the Brazilian elite, and the Brazilian military as too left-leaning, Goulart was overthrown in a military coup in 1964. Calling for the maintenance of social order, a respect for hierarchy, and the control of communism, the Brazilian armed forces assumed power in an unprecedented way. National security and national development merged into a philosophy that kept the military in power for over twenty years, overseeing every aspect of Brazilian economic, social, and political development. Unlike previous attempts by the armed forces to influence politics, the apparatus of the entire state soon became permeated by changes consistent with the military’s purpose and goals. This type of military government was the first of a type—sometimes called the bureaucratic authoritarian state—that came to dominate Latin America in the 1970s. The military, led by General Humberto Castelo Branco (1900–1967), began a period of political repression that saw the eventual narrowing of the Brazilian political universe. Judges were removed from their positions, political parties were proscribed, labor unions were suspended, and their leaders were jailed. The military essentially ruled by decree (even with a sitting Congress) and repression precipitated a period of armed resistance in the late 1960s. The late 1960s and early 1970s also witnessed the first Brazilian “economic miracle” that was characterized by seemingly extraordinary economic growth that, in fact, relied on cheap international lending. Political liberalization under such military rule was a slow process that began with the administration of General Ernesto Geisel (1908–1996) in 1974 and came to be called the abertura (opening). Abertura in large part was stimulated by the brutal murder of Vladimir Herzog, a noted journalist, in 1975. His torture and death united large sectors of Brazilian society and mobilized the Catholic Church in opposition to military rule. Despite the newly unified opposition, the situation nevertheless changed very slowly and, as with most military regimes in Latin America during the 1980s, the armed forces withdrew from politics only in the face of the most serious economic crisis in modern Latin American history. In 1981 Brazil’s GDP fell by 3.1 percent, and by 1983 Brazil was essentially bankrupt. Political liberalization under military rule included the reestablishment of a political party system that had been all but abolished in 1965. At that time, only two parties were allowed: Alianca Renovadora Nacional (ARENA), the official party of the government, and Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (MDB), representative of the entire opposition. Legislation passed by the Congress in 1979 abolished ARENA and the MDB, allowing the emergence of a new political party system. ARENA, while officially disbanding, became Partido Democrático Social (PDS). The MDB reemerged as Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro

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■ ■ ■ infrastructure: the base on which a system or organization is built

insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

liberalization: the process of lowering trade barriers and tariffs and reducing government economic regulations

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■ ■ ■ heterogeneous: complex; consisting of parts or components that are different from one another

(PMDB). However, these artificial parties were so heterogeneous that other important parties emerged as well. The Partido do Trabalhadores (PT), Partido Democrático Trabalhista (PDT), and Partido da Frente Liberal (PFL), among many others, began to reanimate the Brazilian political scene. REEMERGENCE OF DEMOCRACY

vestige: a remnant of a lost or vanished entity, as in a nation or an institution

The 1980s was an important period in the reconstitution of politics in Brazil, as the military slowly released its grip on the state. Brazil’s first elected civilian president in two decades, Tancredo Neves (1910–1985), failed to take office in 1985. Neves came down with a mysterious illness that ultimately led to his death. The vice president José Sarney ( b. 1930) was inaugurated in his stead. Sarney proved to be a relatively weak leader, yet under his administration the constituent assembly met, wrote the constitution of 1988, and began its implementation. Under the new constitution, the last formal vestiges of military rule were eliminated, and in 1989 the first direct election of a president since 1960 was held, with Fernando Collor de Mello ( b. 1949) defeating the PT’s Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva ( b. 1946). The election was also significant in establishing Lula as the main opposition leader in Brazil.

FIGURE 1 Structure of the Government of Brazil

Brazilian Federal Republic

National Congress

Executive

Congresso Nacional

President of the Republic

Bi-cameral

Vice-President Cabinet

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Supreme Federal Tribunal 11 Judges appointed by the President for life and confirmed by the Senate

Brazil

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INCONFIDÊNCIA MINEIRA During the second half of the eighteenth century more and more people living in Brazil began to crave independence from the Portuguese Crown. After the success of the American Revolution, this tendency was especially strong. One of the best known independence movements was the Inconfidência Mineira, or Minas Conspiracy of 1789. It originated in Minas Gerais, a mountainous state in southeast Brazil. The conspiracy involved a network of military officers, priests, judges, government officials, poets, and mine and landowners who banded together and plotted a movement to overthrow Portuguese authorities and set up their own republic.

The plot, however, was betrayed, and its leaders were punished. One opposition leader was Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, a low-ranking member of the military who went by the nickname Tiradentes, or “tooth puller,” because he was also a dentist. Trials of the participants went on for several years and resulted in eleven death sentences, most of which were commuted to banishment. In order to set an example and quash further opposition, Portuguese authorities hanged Tiradentes in 1792 and placed his head in the main square of Ouro Preto, the city where the plot originated. Other body parts were displayed alongside the road that connected Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro. The punishment, however, did not scare the opposition movement. Instead, it deepened the desire for independence.

Collor’s presidency was marred by a serious corruption scandal. Collor, a relatively inexperienced but colorful politician from the north of Brazil, had little political capital in the Congress and his efforts to reform the bureaucracy led to a severe reaction. By 1992 charges of corruption against Collor led to his impeachment by the Chamber of Deputies. He resigned and was replaced by Itamar Franco (b. 1931). The real star of Franco’s administration was his Minister of the Treasury, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (b. 1931), who devised the Real Plan—an anti-inflation plan to stabilize the economy by tying the new Brazilian currency (the real) to the U.S. dollar. The Real Plan effectively eliminated Brazil’s chronic inflation, and was so popular that it catapulted Cardoso to the presidency in 1994 in a decisive victory over the PT’s Lula. The Cardoso presidency was one of the most popular in Brazilian history. Cardoso led Brazil through the prosperous 1990s, decisively steering the country into an export-led growth pattern. At the same time, however, Cardoso challenged the U.S.–led Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) with his focus on expanding Mercado Comum do Sul (MERCUSUR), a southern-cone-based free trade association. A constitutional change permitting a second-term presidency allowed Cardoso to be elected again in 1998, but by the end of his term the domestic and international economies had soured. The real had lost more than half its value, and Brazilians were becoming disenchanted with the free market path to development—as were many throughout Latin America. In the 2002 election, Cardoso’s handpicked successor, José Serra (b. 1942), was defeated by the PT’s Lula, who received the largest majority vote in Brazilian electoral history. Lula promoted national development, which appealed to the Brazilian elite who were being beleaguered by globalization, and social justice, which appealed to the lower classes and some sectors of the middle class. The new administration promoted Brazil’s independent trade policy and vowed to address the appalling social conditions of the poorest Brazilians.

■ ■ ■ impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity

globalization: the process of expanding regional concerns to a worldwide viewpoint, especially politics, economics, or culture

A N E W D E M O C R AT I C B R A Z I L ?

Although Brazil has made great political strides in redemocratization, it has made very little headway in solving the problem of extreme poverty that plagues the country and has become a major block to development. In 2004 the Brazil G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ decentralize: to move power from a central authority to multiple periphery government branches or agencies democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity

bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body

municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

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Statistical Bureaus reported that 40 percent of Brazilian households survived on half the U.S. minimum wage per month ($41.50). Rural poverty was so severe that 32 percent of all poor Brazilians lived in the countryside, leading to bloody land seizures by landless peasants. In the early twenty-first century, urban Brazil was plagued by drug lords who had taken over the poorest sections of major cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and a prison system in which the inmates rioted nearly every week. The streets of Brazil’s largest cities continued to see increasing crime rates in 2004. Violence was attributed to organized crime, gang wars, drug trafficking, prostitution, child abandonment, and, of course, the huge gap between the rich and the poor. Typically, higher rates of crime had been confined to the poor shantytowns, or favelas, but as of 2004 the violence had become more widespread. Lula and the PT began to implement an ambitious antipoverty program that includes a “zero hunger” initiative, but it will take fundamental changes in the structure of Brazilian society for a true solution to be reached. Reacting against the centralizing authoritarianism of the military state it replaced, the new democratic Brazilian constitution of 1988 revived federalism and significantly decentralized the Brazilian government. A tool of democratization, political decentralization redistributed power—especially fiscal control. Although it would be an exaggeration to say that this development has made Brazil ungovernable, decentralization has certainly kept politicians focused on the issue of constitutional reform. Brazil is a federative republic, in which a national government shares sovereignty with twenty-six state governments. The national government consists of three separate branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is headed by a president and vice president, elected together for a four-year term by popular vote. All cabinet posts (ministers) are appointed by the president. The legislature is bicameral and consists of a Senate, with eight-one seats—three for each state plus one for the Federal District (Brasilia)—and a Chamber of Deputies, with 513 members elected by proportional vote within states. Senators sit for eight-year terms, while deputies serve for four years. Each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats; the largest state delegation is São Paulo’s which is capped at a maximum of seventy seats. The system is weighted in favor of geographically large but sparsely populated states. The federal judiciary is headed by a Supreme Federal Tribunal, consisting of eleven judges who are appointed for life terms by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Brazilian presidents often confront powerful and independent state governors and struggle with a bureaucracy that is difficult to harness. Because of the mandatory revenue allocation to states and municipalities provided for in the 1988 constitution, Brazilian governors and mayors exercise considerable power. Political parties do not generally take up the slack and act as unifiers since party loyalty is rare except within the PT. Brazil might have the most fragmented political party system in Latin America; Politicians move from party to party, oblivious to ideology or strategic concerns. Politics in Brazil remain paternalistic and cliental. Although its corporatist nature may be receding, patronage and pork-barrel politics have not greatly diminished, owing to its bureaucratic legacy and the many levels of government approval sought by social forces. Decentralization only exacerbated the problem. The PT administration in 2004 continued the reform process that marked the Cardoso presidency, but a lack of a majority in the legislature posed enormous challenges. Perhaps the greatest challenge was the positive incorporation of emerging social forces into the state.

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In 1980 Lula da Silva emerged from the simple means of his peasant family to found the Workers’ Party. After winning election to the Brazilian parliament in 1986, da Silva lost three presidential bids before his overwhelming victory in 2002. (SOURCE: © REUTERS/CORBIS) LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA TALKS TO WORKERS IN THE CITY OF SALVADOR IN 2002.

The highly decentralized federalism of the Brazilian polity in the early twenty-first century did have its bright spots. In particular, civil society has proliferated. Interest groups, collective action, and expanded political participation all indicated a more vibrant democracy. A greater degree of pluralist access to policy-making areas—such as the environment, agriculture, health care, and education—had led to increased competition, openness, and public debate. Although perhaps not identical to the U.S. interest-group model, a complex set of relationships between governmental agencies, business associations, political parties, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other civic groups was fast developing. In fact, unlike in most other Latin American countries, unions had been expanding in Brazil as an independent force, different from the cliental pattern of the past. The media too—both electronic and print—had expanded greatly and acquired increasing influence in the public debates, making for a true “fourth estate.” Many observers believed that the election of Lula to the presidency was an indication of the maturity and stability of Brazil’s democratic transition.

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■ ■ ■ polity: a form of government held by a specific country or group pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

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Brazzaville

■ ■ ■ extrajudicial: outside the legal system; lacking the legitimating authority of the government

According to Freedom House, in 2004 Brazil had made significant progress in guaranteeing citizens’ political rights. However, it performed poorly in the protection of human rights. Amnesty International reported continued police abuses, extrajudicial executions, torture, violence against women and children, and attacks on and harassment of human rights workers, even though important legislation and programs in defense of human rights were instituted during the Cardoso presidency. In 2004 Lula pledged to deal directly and forcefully with these harsh realities of Brazilian society. See also: Federalism; Uruguay. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abers, Rebecca Neaera. Inventing Local Democracy: Grassroots Politics in Brazil. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. Ames, Barry. The Deadlock of Democracy in Brazil. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002. Branford, Sue, and Bernardo Kucinski. Lula and the Workers’; Party in Brazil. New York: The New Press, 2004. Fausto, Boris. A Concise History of Brazil. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Font, Mauricio. Transforming Brazil: A Reform Era in Perspective. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Kingstone, Peter R., and Timothy J. Power., eds. Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions and Processes. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. Nylen, William R., and Lawrence C. Dodd. Participatory Democracy versus Elitist Democracy: Lessons from Brazil. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers, 2003. Petras, James, and Henry Veltmeyer. Cardoso’s Brazil: A Land For Sale. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Roett, Riordan. Brazil: Politics in a Patrimonial Society, 5th ed. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999. Skidmore, Thomas. Politics of Military Rule in Brazil, 1964–1985. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Souza, Celina, and Celina M. De Souza. Constitutional Engineering in Brazil: The Politics of Federalism and Decentralization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers, 1997.

Douglas Friedman

Brazzaville See Congo, Republic of the.

British Virgin Islands

per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are sixteen inhabited and twenty uninhabited islands east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Most of the population—estimated at 21,300 in 2003—live on the island of Tortola, whose capital is Road Town. The BVI enjoys a high level of gross domestic product by Caribbean standards with an estimated per capita average in 2002 of $16,000. The tourism industry, which in 2003 brought 400,000 visitors who spent $238 G O V E R N M E N T S

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million, and financial services, with over 400,000 companies registered in 2001, are the main economic activities. The U.S. dollar is used as BVI currency. Since 1984, the BVI has become an international financial center and business registry, and legislation in the 1990s extended its place in global financial affairs. The BVI has been a colony of the United Kingdom (UK) since the seventeenth ■ ■ ■ century. The islands are a British Dependent Territory, an overseas territory of the UK that enjoys internal self-governance. Formal sovereign power remains with sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity the UK, which is represented by a governor who retains control over executive functions such as defense, external affairs, internal security, and the administration of the courts. Tom Macan (b. 1946) was appointed governor in 2002. At the same time, the BVI has obtained associate membership in several international organizations. The territory has been financially independent of the British government since the 1970s but still receives minimal development aid from European and UK sources. The colonial status of the territory has been an issue of debate since the 1960s, but there is little popular support for full political independence. The islands have been internally self-governing since the 1970s, and under the 1976 constitution, the BVI operates a parliamentary-style legislature. Since 1994 the Legislative Council has had fifteen members: thirteen elected for four-year terms (nine of them in single-seat constituencies and four at-large), along with one ex officio member and one speaker chosen from outside the Legislative Council. After elections, the majority party composes the Executive Council, which advises the governor on policymaking in the territory and is collectively responsible to the Legislative Council. The Executive Council is composed of the chief minister, up to three elected ministers, and an appointed attorney general. The chief minister can dissolve the Legislative Council and ■ ■ ■ call new elections. Policy is administered in six ministries. Policy issues include the dependence on services and tourism, infrastructure, and the challenges of FAST FACTS irregularities, money laundering, and corruption in the financial services sector. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, The judicial system follows the British common law pattern. BVI courts are established in 1967, is headquartered in Saint Lucia. also associated with a larger judicial infrastructure among independent eastern Caribbean islands, headed by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. UK colonial status means that political rights have been extended to citizens and residents under UK law and United Nations conventions. Conflicts have emerged over the status of BVI resiBRITISH VIRGIN N dents and over the rights of the long-term migrants from the ISLANDS Caribbean and other countries relative to those of “belongers” Anegada E W 10 Miles 5 0 (the BVI term for residents born in the islands). S There are few stable political parties: a small population 0 5 10 Kilometers and geography make for highly personalized politics. This NORTH affects the quality of representation, accountability of officials, ATLANTIC and the formulation of policy. There are four political parties: OCEAN Virgin the Concerned Citizens Movement, National Democratic Party, Gorda United Party, and the Virgin Islands Party. Seventy-two percent Jost Van Tortola Dyke of voters participated in the 2003 elections. The National Democratic Party won eight seats (52.4% of the total vote) and Road formed the government, with Orlando Smith named as chief Town minister. The Virgin Islands Party won the remaining five seats (42.2% of the vote). The small size of the Legislative Council means that there is little organized opposition to Executive VIRGIN ISLANDS Caribbean (U.S.) U.K. Virgin Council actions. Islands Sea See also: Caribbean Region; Common Law; Parliamentary Systems. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY “British Virgin Islands.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/vi.html⬎. Christopher, Alvin. “Parliamentary Probation: Evolving and Effective Legislative Process in the British Virgin Islands.” The Parliamentarian 78, no. 2 (1997):11–13. Fergus, Howard. “Dependency Politics: The Quality of Parliamentary Governance in the British Virgin Islands.” Caribbean Quarterly 42 no. 4 (1996):50–60. Maurer, Bill. Recharting the Caribbean: Land, Law, and Citizenship in the British Virgin Islands. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. Smith, Angel. “Politics on an Intimate Scale: The Problems of Individual Members of the Legislative Council in a Caribbean Island.” The Parliamentarian 78 no. 2 (1997):8–10.

Derwin Munroe

Brunei

■ ■ ■ protectorate: a territory or country under the protection of another sovereign country’s military

sultanate: a country governed by the sovereign of an Islamic state, called a sultan

unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body

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Negara Brunei Darussalam (or Brunei) is a small country of 5,765 square kilometers (2,226 square miles), with a population of 358,098. About two-thirds of this population is ethnic Malay. Its capital is Bandar Seri Begawan, and it is located in Southeast Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia. Brunei contains dense forests and mangrove swamps. Its climate is tropical. The same family has ruled Brunei for six centuries. From 1888 until 1950 Brunei was a British protectorate. In 1950 Omar Ali Saifuddin III (1914–1986), acting as the nominal authority under British rule, was inaugurated as sultan. In 1959 he promulgated the country’s first written constitution. According to its provisions, elections for a legislative council would take place in 1962. Directly following the election, which the opposition won by a landslide, the sultan annulled the election results, suspended some of the constitution’s provisions, declared a state of emergency, and ruled by decree. In 1963 Brunei was the only Malay state not to join the Malaysian Federation, and it remained a British dependency until gaining its independence in 1984. In 1967 Hassanal Bolkiah (b. 1946) became sultan following his father’s abdication. In the early twenty-first century, he continued to rule Brunei by decree, naming others to major ministerial posts. In 1990 he became the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic faith, introducing the concept of a Malay Muslim monarchy. His eldest son, Prince al-Muhtadee Billah (b. 1974), became heir apparent in 1998. Officially, Brunei is an Islamic constitutional sultanate, but the constitution has been suspended since 1962. Although Bolkiah announced in 2004 that he would reinstate the Legislative Council, and that its members would debate amendments to the Constitution, this had not yet occurred by June 2005. The title of sultan is hereditary, and he enjoys ultimate power. The constitution names him as chief of state and head of the government. He appoints and presides over the Council of Ministers that holds executive authority in the country. A unicameral Legislative Council (Majlis Masyuarat Megeri), which serves only in a consultative capacity, constitutes the legislative branch. According to the constitution, ten of the twenty-one seats of the council are directly elected by the people and the rest are appointed by the sultan. In a 1970 decree, however, the sultan changed the council to an appointive body by decree. The constitution does not provide for an independent judiciary. The legal system is based on both civil law (based on English common law) and the Shari’a (Islamic law). G O V E R N M E N T S

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Brunei’s extensive petroleum and natural gas fields provide the nation with one of the highest per capita gross domestic products (GDPs) in the developing world—over U.S.$14,000. With a corresponding high standard of living, the people of Brunei enjoy high government subsidies and do not pay taxes. Even though financial fortunes declined in the 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis and the fall of oil prices, as of 2004 the people still enjoyed a high average annual income, parity in purchasing power, and an appreciable growth rate.

■ ■ ■ subsidy: a government grant used to encourage some action

Although the constitution provides for limited citizen participation in the political system, such participation is nonexistent under the continuing state of emergency and rule-by-decree. There have been no reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, no politically motivated disappearances, and no torture. Arbitrary arrest, detention, and exile have occasionally taken place, however. The government limits freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Political parties are not allowed and BRUNEI restrictions are placed on the right to assemble. The govern30 Miles 10 20 0 ment further restricts the practice of non-Islamic religions and 0 10 20 30 Kilometers discriminates against women.

Pulau Labuan Pulau Kereman

Telok Branei

See also: Shari’a. South China Sea

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t

Saunders, Graham. A History of Brunei, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Amal I. Khoury

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Bulgaria

Bulgaria is located in southeastern Europe in the region generally referred to as the Balkans. About the same size as Tennessee, it amounts to 110,912 square kilometers (42,823 square miles) of land. The total population is about 7.85 million people with almost 70 percent living in urban areas. Reflecting economic concerns and changing social attitudes, the population shows signs of decline. Approximately 86 percent of the population are ethnic Bulgarians, about nine percent are ethnic Turks, and the remaining six percent are Roma, Jews, and others. Several thousand persons self-identify as ethnic Macedonians. Around 85 percent of Bulgarians call themselves Eastern Orthodox Christians. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Leake, David. Brunei: The Modern Southeast-Asian Islamic Sultanate. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1989.

U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2003. ⬍http://www. state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27764.htm⬎.

Batang Duri uro Temb

g on ut

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i

an aru

Kuala Abang

ne

L im b a n

Badas

e

m ra

Hussainmiya, B.A. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III and Britain: The Making of Brunei Darussalam. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Lumut

Kuala Seria Belait B it la

Government of Brunei Darussalam Homepage. ⬍http://www.brunei. gov.bn⬎.

Tutong

Pulau Muara Besar

Bandar Seri Begawan

Pand

“Brunei.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ geos/bx.html⬎.

Jerudong

Br u

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Approximately 13 percent of all Bulgarians are Muslims, fewer than 1 percent are Jews, and fewer than 0.5 percent declare themselves Roman Catholics, Iniate Catholics, or a variety of Protestant denominations. Bulgarian is the official language. The nation’s literacy rate is a high 98 percent.

BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY

■ ■ ■ unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body reprisal: retaliation for a negative action

persecute: to belittle, harass, injure, or otherwise intimidate, especially those of a different background or group coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative bloc: a group of countries or individuals working toward a common goal, usually within a convention or other political body

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government

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Bulgaria was established in CE 681. Marked throughout most of its history by cycles of violence and political turmoil, the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) ruled Bulgaria from 1396 to 1878. Liberated by the Russian Army and volunteers from other countries, Bulgaria became independent again in 1879, and its leaders created what was by European standards of the day a remarkably democratic constitution. It featured a constitutional monarchy with a unicameral legislature headed by a crown prince with limited powers. Bulgaria fought unsuccessful wars in this early period, leading to substantial bitterness, recriminations, and reprisals. A cycle of violence descended on the Bulgarian political scene that included bombings, assassinations of elected officials, sabotage, attempts on the life of the king, and official repression and reprisals. During World War II (1939–1945) the Bulgarian secret police worked closely with their Nazi war ally in the systematic and successful penetration of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). It assassinated most party members. At the same time leaders and ordinary citizens successfully resisted Nazi persecution and deportation of the nation’s Jewish population. At World War II’s end a coalition of wartime underground forces under the banner of the Fatherland Front won a series of elections, including the creation of a republican government in a popular referendum. However, between 1944 and 1947, the BCP gradually consolidated its power and Bulgaria became part of the Eastern European bloc of communist states led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1947 the first communist-style constitution, the Dimitrov Constitution, was created, named after the prime minister Georgi Dimitrov (1882–1949). In 1971 a new constitution was designed by Todor Zhivkov (1911–1998), the successor to the Stalinist Vulko Chervenkov (1900–1981). It designated Bulgaria as a people’s democracy and socialist state. From 1956 to 1989 Zhivkov ruled in a fashion imitating that of his counterparts in the Soviet Union. But on November 10, 1989, the day after the Berlin wall fell, Zhivkov’s regime ended in a bloodless coup d’etat. Procedurally, Bulgaria has had a positive experience in its transition to democracy. The July 1991 constitution prescribes that every four years the people elect members to parliament. The constitution provides for no-confidence votes to dissolve governments that no longer enjoy sufficiently broad parliamentary support. The president and vice president of the republic are elected for five-year terms. At local levels of government, mayors serve four-year terms, as do members of city councils. There have been a series of competitive elections, with citizens given a regular opportunity for change among competing sets of candidates. Although not without controversy, the government has gradually sold off much of its publicly held commercial and industrial state-owned and state-operated entities, and has restituted large amounts of land confiscated from private owners during the communist era. Since 1989 the 240-member National Assembly has had a series of governments reflecting the changing moods of the electorate. At first the voters installed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), formerly the BCP. However, that government was short-lived. The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) was a loosely knit confederation of factions united in their opposition to the BSP. With G O V E R N M E N T S

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THE ROMA

Voter Turnout in Bulgarian Elections, 1991 through 2001

Year

Number of electors in the basic lists

Voters according to the ballot

Turnout

6,790,006 6,745,289 6,819,511 6,874,668

5,540,843 5,264,448 4,291,257 4,608,135

83.87% 78.05% 62.93% 67.03%

6,793,081 6,829,508 6,822,045 6,820,913 6,824,979 6,868,407

5,139,891 5,206,253 4,317,161 4,215,145 2,850,291 3,784,033

75.66% 76.23% 63.28% 61.80% 41.76% 55.09%

Election for Parliament 1991 1994 1997 2001 Election for President 1992: First round 1992: Second round 1996: First round 1996: Second round 2001: First round 2001: Second round SOURCE:

Courtesy of author.

coalitional support from the Turkish minority faction in parliament, it proceeded to win electoral support and effective control of the National Assembly. In fact, the UDF and BSP have sought and alternatively achieved coalitional support from the Turkish ethnic party called the Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF). Between 1990 and 2004 there were nine governments, all of which suffered periods of unpopularity, including frequent votes of no confidence in the National Assembly. A prominent early UDF leader, Zhelyu Zhelev (b. 1935), was elected president from 1990 to 1996, only to suffer defeat for renomination by his own party. Zhelev, a former philosophy professor at Sofia University and an ardent critic of the BSP and its programs, was replaced by Petar Stoyanov (b. 1952). This practicing attorney was elected for one term from 1996 to 2001 after the Constitutional Court effectively declared the popular BSP Foreign Minister Georgi Piriniski (b. 1948), the chosen candidate of his party, ineligible to become president because he failed to meet the citizenship requirement in the constitution. Stoyanov won his race by a 60 to 40 percent margin of victory over Piriniski’s late replacement in the race. However, in 2001 Stoyanov lost his reelection bid by a 54 to 46 percent margin to the BSP candidate, Georgi Parvanov (b. 1957), a highlevel party activist. Bulgarian politics is a lively affair involving intense argument and debate. Nonetheless, citizen involvement in the process has waned as the initial euphoria for promised changes in the daily lives of ordinary citizens has met with some disappointment. As Table 1 indicates, voter turnout has steadily eroded in both parliamentary and presidential elections since the early years of the transition to democracy.

The Roma are an ethnic population whose history of rejection and persecution continued into the twenty-first century. The Roma, descendants of the ancient warrior classes of India, began migrating to the Middle East in C.E. 224. By the fifteenth century they had arrived in Western Europe. They are sometimes called “gypsies” because of their nomadic nature, though they scorn this label. The Roma have their own language and traditionally worked as musicians, dancers, horse-traders, fortune-tellers, agricultural migrant laborers, and metalworkers while traveling from place to place. Their non-traditional lifestyle garnered mistrust among the Europeans. In the late 1690s Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640–1705) ordered Romani men to be hanged and Romani women beaten and banished. In parts of Austria, the Roma were branded for easy identification. In Moldavia and Walachia (now Romania), the Roma remained enslaved until the mid-1800s. During World War II (1939–1945) the Nazis deemed the Roma a subhuman class and killed hundreds of thousands of them in concentration camps. In the early 2000s violence against the Roma continued, particularly following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Scholars estimated the Roma population in Europe at about 12 million, mostly concentrated in the Balkans and Central Europe, with substantial numbers in France and England.

CONTEMPORARY CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM

The 1991 Bulgarian Constitution is a ten-chapter document. Chapter 1 declares Bulgaria a republic with a parliamentary form of government. Lawmaking power is vested in a 240-member single-chamber body called the National Assembly. In principle, the executive branch, called the Council of Ministers, is separate from the legislative branch of government. The Council of Ministers is a body elected by the National Assembly. When members of the G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ adjudicate: to settle a case by judicial procedure jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised petition: a written appeal for a desired action, or, to request an action, especially of government

National Assembly are named to the Council, they must give up any parliamentary position they hold. The president possesses little institutional authority, performing mostly ceremonial duties such as head of state, including scheduling elections for the National Assembly and local elections, the formal appointment of new governments, and concluding international treaties. The president may veto laws thought unwise, but the National Assembly may overrule any such vetoes by a simple majority vote. By U.S. standards the judicial branch of government is complicated. Yet, it is generally consistent with outlines found in most modern European constitutions. In addition to the regular courts that deal with ordinary civil and criminal matters, a Supreme Administrative Court and Constitutional Court exist. The Supreme Administrative Court adjudicates final appeals for all administrative law matters. The twelve-member Constitutional Court specializes in the adjudication of constitutional issues. This court exercises abstract review, meaning that there is no need for an actual case or controversy with real live parties in dispute, as is the case in the United States. This court may exercise jurisdiction on the petition of no fewer than one-fifth of all members of the National Assembly, the president, the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, or the nation’s chief prosecutor. Therefore, it is possible to attack a law both before and after it is promulgated and for the Constitutional Court to declare any such law null and void, either in part or in whole. The constitution mandates local self-government and local administration within a unitary system of authority. It divides Bulgaria into townships and oblasts.

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SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS SINCE THE TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

Before the downfall of the Zhivkov regime, the economy had been stagnant. Many presumed that with the elimination of the command economy and its replacement by economic privatization and capitalist institutions, within a short period the economic well-being of citizens would improve quickly and substantially. However, since the early 1990s Bulgaria has experienced double-digit unemployment and hyper-inflation. In the last quarter of 2003 the unemployment rate stood at 12.7 percent. Those on fixed incomes have been hardest hit by inflation. The national minimum wage in 2004 was 110 leva per month, or $68.75 in U.S. dollars. By all accounts the crime rate has soared, and there is evidence of organized crime syndicates. In the late 1990s Bulgaria’s politicians agreed to banking and monetary reforms in return for international help in the form of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank investments. HUMAN RIGHTS

Although more than a fifth of all the articles in the 1991 constitution pertain to human rights, Bulgaria’s human rights record and its commitment to democratic principles in the operation of its government are not spotless. The U.S. State Department, European Union (EU) bodies, the United Nations (UN), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and various non-governmental human rights groups, including the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee on Human Rights and Amnesty International, all report serious violations of human rights since the transition to democracy beginning in the early 1990s and continuing into 2005. The framers of the 1991 Bulgarian Constitution sought to minimize ethnic, racial, and religious conflict by inserting Article 11(4): “There shall be no political parties on ethnic, racial or religious lines, nor parties which seek the violent usurpation of state power.” However, the Constitutional Court circumvented this prohibition in a case involving the MRF by proclaiming it a “movement” and not a “political party.” The MRF has since played an important role as coalition partner in a number of governments. A political organization of the Romani population also participates in the political process, although its influence in parliamentary politics is substantially less than that of the MRF. Nevertheless, the potential for discrimination against other political organizations is apparent, as in the case of an organization that is said to seek the establishment of an independent Macedonian state, OMO Ilinden (United Macedonian Organization). The Constitutional Court ruled that OMO Ilinden was a clandestine group seeking to violently usurp state power and therefore fell within Article 11(4)’s prohibition. In October 2001, however, the ECHR ruled that Bulgaria had violated the political rights of OMO Ilinden. During this same period Bulgaria lost a number of cases in the ECHR involving prohibitions of the rights of OMO Ilinden members to assemble and conduct public demonstrations. Governments of all ideological persuasions have been charged with attempting to control the state media through the hiring and firing practices of managers of the Bulgarian national television and radio public agencies. Moreover, journalists complain that they are subjected to criminal defamation laws designed to silence their exposure of corrupt practices, especially in the rural areas of the country. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

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■ ■ ■ insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority

perpetrate: to commit a crime or injustice

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“Lustration” laws—as they are known in Eastern Europe—challenge the rights of certain citizens to freely associate and openly espouse political opinions. The Bulgarian lustration law had prohibited the government from employing any person who had previously held a leading post in the BCP or acted as a collaborator of the state security system. In 1999 the Constitutional Court put an end to this legislation by declaring the Administration Act of 1998 unconstitutional. Article 13 of the constitution guarantees religious freedom, but Protestant evangelicalism and a struggle for power within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church have tested Bulgaria’s resolve in this respect. Politicians have enacted laws and administrative regulations to discourage the aggressive proselytizing activities of well-known Western-based religious organizations. Parliament has also found itself in the middle of an intense factional battle, with the passage of the 2002 Denominations Act. It prohibits insurgents within the Orthodox congregation from using the same name or making claims of property on the Patriarch’s church. Respect for the rights of ethnic Turks has long been an issue, dating from before the transition to democracy. Yet, ethnic Turks have used their political power to win significant gains. In 2001 two members of the MRF were selected to serve as cabinet officials in the Council of Ministers. Perhaps the most severe minority problem is the long-standing ill-treatment of the Roma, a people long associated in the public mind with sordid stereotypes of thievery, dishonesty, and uncleanliness. Many instances of police brutality, administrative abuse, physical abuse, and mob violence have been perpetrated against these people. Since the early part of the twentieth century Bulgarian women have had the right to vote, possess property, and attend school. Women are active in numerous professions, and there are many female members of the National Assembly— in 2002, sixty-three women served in the 240-seat body, and a woman has led the UDF in parliament. Human rights groups and some parliamentarians have charged workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, a hotly disputed topic. In fact, in 2003 as part of its integration into the European community, Bulgaria’s National Assembly enacted an antidiscrimination law to protect the rights of women and men. Despite this action, however, large numbers of women in this country suffer physical violence at home. Shelters for battered women continue to be constructed to address this cross-cultural social problem. Human rights groups and international bodies are critical of Bulgaria for its treatment of criminal suspects and prisoners. Police officers have used firearms to apprehend suspects even in misdemeanor cases in contravention of an explicit UN basic principle. Numerous instances of long delays in trials, some exceeding six months since the time of arrest, have been reported. For many years detained persons accused of crimes were not afforded free legal services. A law enacted in 2000 ensured free legal services for those who could afford attorneys. As late as 2002, however, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee on Human Rights reported that many persons accused of crimes continued to lack adequate legal representation. Prisons are old and overcrowded, often having poor hygienic conditions. It was not until 2002 that the National Assembly outlawed the use of capital punishment. Bulgarians recognize that the special needs of children represent a significant social problem. Large numbers of orphaned children reside in underfunded and understaffed state institutions. Disabled orphaned children placed in special schools do not receive adequate attention. It is estimated that 51 to 70 percent of these children are Romani. Expenditures on social care for children and adults in Bulgaria are about 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), far below the 2002 European norm of 28 percent. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BULGARIAN ROMA, OR GYPSIES, GATHER IN SOFIA, THE COUNTRY’S CAPITAL, DURING A 2005 RALLY. While the Roma in Bulgaria have gained political representation since the end

of communism in 1989 and the country’s creation of a new constitution in 1991, the minority group generally suffers from extreme racial intolerance such as job discrimination and segregated schooling along with enduring substandard living conditions and police brutality. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

C O N C LU S I O N

No government is without fault. Bulgaria is striving to achieve the promises of democracy. Yet, in a short time, it has moved from one of Europe’s most repressive regimes to one that celebrates democratic institutions, procedures, and rights. Freedom House, a not-for-profit body that since 1972 has published annual assessments of governments around the world, consistently rated Bulgaria from 1972 to 1990 as “not free.” However, in the ten-year period from G O V E R N M E N T S

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1993 through 2003, Bulgaria was on average rated as a free nation. This scoring compares favorably with other Eastern and Central European states. The desire for admission to the EU with its corresponding economic benefits has become a significant motivation for Bulgaria’s leaders to comply with the human rights expectations of the wider community of nations. The country’s most recent attempts to improve tolerance toward ethnic and nontraditional religious minorities is an important development, as has been the broader effort to make democracy work against the backdrop of Bulgaria’s historical failures. See also: Ethnic Cleansing; European Union; Macedonia. BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. “Bulgaria.” In Amnesty International Report: 1994–2000. London: Amnesty International Publications, 2001. Bell, John D. Peasants in Power: Alexander Stamboliski and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, 1899–1923. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977. Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. Human Rights in Bulgaria. ⬍http://www.bghelsinki.org/ index_en.html⬎. Freedom House. “Bulgaria.” Freedom in the World 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse. org/ratings/ index.htm⬎. Human Rights Watch. Human Right Watch World Report 2002: Europe & Central Asia: Bulgaria. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002. ⬍http://www.hrw.org/wr2k2/ europe6.html⬎. Melone, Albert P. “The Struggle for Judicial Independence and the Transition Toward Democracy in Bulgaria.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 29 (1996):231–243. Melone, Albert P. Creating Parliamentary Government: The Transition to Democracy in Bulgaria. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1998. Melone, Albert P., and Carol E. Hays. “The Judicial Role in Bulgaria’s Struggle for Human Rights.” Judicature 77 (1994):248–253. U.S. Department of State. Bulgaria: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices—2003. ⬍http:// www. state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27830.htm⬎.

Albert P. Melone

Burkina Faso

■ ■ ■ xenophobia: a fear of foreigners, often leading to isolationism, reduction in immigration, and racism

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Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, is landlocked and borders Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali, and Niger. While the northern drylands fringe the Sahara desert, more favorable ecological and climatic conditions prevail in the savannah and forest areas in the south. In 2004 Burkina Faso had 13.5 million inhabitants. Most people live in rural areas; only 27 percent of residents live in urban areas. Burkina Faso has around sixty ethnic and language groups; some originate from precolonial kingdoms (e.g., Mossi, Fulbe, and Gourmanche) and others from village-based communities (e.g., Bobo, Lobi, Senufo, and Lyela). The territory came under French colonization by the end of the nineteenth century. Upper Volta was a labor reserve, and colonial economic development was not primarily focused on the colony’s own potentials but on the need for plantation labor in Côte d’Ivoire. In the early twenty-first century, 2 to 3 million Burkinabe continued to reside in Côte d’Ivoire, increasingly serving as scapegoats in xenophobic politics, particularly since the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002. G O V E R N M E N T S

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In 1960 Upper Volta gained independence. In January 1966 President Maurice Yaméogo (1921–1993) resigned after a popular upheaval, which brought Colonel Sangoulé Lamizana (1916–2005) to power. The latter remained president for different military and civilian governments until 1980, when a coup d’etat ended his regime. Another coup d’etat occurred in November 1982. In August 1983 “the revolution” brought Captain Thomas Sankara (1949–1987) to power. A period of profound political and economic change began with self-adjustment, selfreliance, and anticorruption policies. In 1984 the country’s name was changed to Burkina Faso (“fatherland of dignified men”). In October 1987 President Sankara was killed in a coup d’etat, and his second-in-command Captain Blaise Compaoré (b. 1950) came to power. President Compaoré and his government soon initiated a democratization process with a new constitution adopted by referendum in June 1991. In 1991 Compaoré was elected president as the single candidate because all other candidates had withdrawn. Legislative elections were held in 1992 and 1997, and municipal elections in 1995 and 2000. In 1998 President Compaoré was re-elected with 87.5 percent of the vote against two other candidates. The radical opposition, led among others by Joseph Ki-Zerbo and Hermann Yaméogo, boycotted the elections. With the assassination in December 1998 of Norbert Zongo, a journalist and director of the newspaper L’Indépendant, allegedly by members of the president’s security forces, Burkina Faso experienced a deep socio-political crisis. The struggle against “impunity” was the credo, and activists were mobilized through the Collectif des organisations démocratiques de masse et des partis politiques, led by Halidou Ouédraogo. Although the Zongo murder did not have any legal outcome, the sociopolitical upheaval led to electoral reforms. In the 2002 legislative elections a

■ ■ ■ coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

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■ ■ ■ political nomadism: the movement of an official elected as a member of a specific political party away from that party, usually to another party

proportional electoral system increased the opposition’s seats; of the 111 parliamentary seats, the ruling party Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès won fifty-seven, and the twelve opposition parties took fifty-four. Three ambiguous features characterize the democratization process. First, although political parties and independent newspapers contribute extensively to public debate, national politics is still mainly reserved for the minority of educated people, who communicate in French. Second, despite the foundation of different democratic institutions and the many political parties, political nomadism is frequent. Third, the ruling party Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès has a long record of modifying the constitution to favor the party. See also: Côte d’Ivoire.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Banégas, Richard. Insoumissions populaires et révolution au Burkina Faso. Bordeaux, France: Institut d’Etudes Politiques and Centre d’Etude d’Afrique Noire, 1993. Hagberg, Sten. “‘Enough is Enough:’ An Ethnography of the Struggle against Impunity in Burkina Faso.” Journal of Modern African Studies 40 (2002):217–246. McFarland, Daniel M., and Lawrence A. Rupley. Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. Otayek, René, Filiga M. Sawadogo, and Jean-Pierre Guingané, eds. Le Burkina entre révolution et démocratie (1983–1993): Ordre politique et changement social en Afrique subsaharienne. Paris: Karthala, 1996.

Sten Hagberg

Burma See: Myanmar (Burma).

Burundi

arable land: land suitable for the growing of crops

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Burundi is a small landlocked country in Central Africa, sharing borders with Tanzania on the east, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) in the west, and Rwanda in the north. With a population of about 7.1 million in 2002 living in a land of just 27,000 square kilometers (10,425 square miles), Burundi has the second highest population density in Africa. The population of Burundi comprises three ethnic groups: the Hutu (85%), the Tutsi (14%), and the Twa (1%). Scarcity of arable land (estimated at 0.13 hectare per person) constitutes an impediment to agricultural production. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of $600 in 2003 (in purchasing power parity international dollar). Its economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for about half of national output, compared to 18 percent for industry and 8 percent for the manufacturing sector. The country is heavily burdened by external debt. In 2002, the government spent $3 per capita on health care, but it paid $5 per capita on servicing debt owed to official creditors alone. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Unlike other African countries, the nation of Burundi is not a creation of colonialism. Before the colonial era, Burundi was a monarchy headed by a dynasty of kings, or abami (umwami; singular). Burundi was colonized by Belgium, which took over from Germany when the latter was defeated in World War I (1914–1918). The colonial administration forged a pact with the monarchy to control the population, capitalizing on the supreme powers that the king enjoyed by tradition. The country gained independence in July 1962, but the royal dynasty continued to rule the country until November 1966 when it was overthrown by a military coup led by army captain Michel Micombero (1940–1983). ■ ■ ■ The 1976 military coup brought to power a new dynasty—the Tutsi military and civilian elite from the southern province of Bururi—thus setting in polarize: to separate individuals into adversarial groups motion a process of polarization of the political system along ethnic and regional lines. In November 1976, Micombero was overthrown by his cousin, impunity: an exemption from punishment army colonel Jean Baptiste Bagaza (b. 1946), who in turn was ousted in September 1987 by army major Pierre Buyoya (b. 1949), who also hailed from the same commune of Rutovu BURUNDI Kigali in the Bururi province. Under the postindependence military 50 Miles 25 0 Lake regimes, the country experienced recurrent conflicts that are Muhazi attributable to the politization of ethnicity by leaders seeking 0 25 50 Kilometers Lake to monopolize power. Mugesera

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In February 1994, Cyprien Ntaryamira (1955–1994) was nominated by the ruling party, FRODEBU (Front for Democracy in Burundi), as the new president. In April 1994, President Ntaryamira died in the same plane crash that killed Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya ( b. 1956) took over the presidency until July 1996, when he was overthrown by former president Pierre Buyoya. Pressure from the countries in the region forced the Buyoya regime to enter into negotiations with all political and armed entities. In August 2000, nineteen political parties signed the “Arusha Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi.” This agreement led to the establishment of a transitional government comprising all the major political parties. The transitional government remained in power until democratic elections, originally scheduled for November 2004, but postponed until 2005, could be held.

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In March 1992, a new constitution was adopted, establishing a multiparty system and allowing for the country’s first democratic presidential elections, in June 1993. Melchior Ndadaye (1953–1993) became the country’s first democratically elected president; notably, Ndadaye, a civilian, was neither a Tutsi nor from the south. Only three months later, however, the new president was assassinated by the military, plunging the country into a civil war.

Lake Kivu

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These military regimes accumulated a deplorable record in the areas of human rights and political liberties. Mistreatment of political prisoners, including torture, disappearances, and outright extrajudicial executions, were common practices under the military regimes. Under the one-party state, all powers lay in the hands of the executive branch of the government. The judiciary and legal institutions served the interests of the ruling elite, which perpetuated the culture of impunity.

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As the country forges its postconflict political system, it confronts a number of major political problems that arise from the legacy of a polarized and predatory polity. One of the challenges is to overcome the tradition of exclusion on the basis of ethnic and regional origin. Another challenge is to establish a national defense force that is apolitical and not dominated by any of the ethnic or regional entities. In the immediate postconflict era, the country also faces the issue of resettlement of the large number of refugees that continue to arrive from neighboring countries. Whether the country achieves stability or reverts to chronic violence largely depends on whether it is able to engineer a political system that gives equal opportunities for social mobility to citizens from all ethnic groups and regions.

■ ■ ■ polity: a form of government held by a specific country or group

See also: Genocide. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Burundi.” CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ by.html⬎. “Country Profile: Burundi.” BBC News Online. ⬍http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/ country_profiles/1068873.stm⬎. U.S. Department of State. “Burundi.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2004. ⬍http://www. state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2004/41591.htm⬎.

Léonce Ndikumana

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Cambodia covers 181,000 square kilometers (69,866 square miles) of the south central region of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. It is shaped like a shallow cooking pan with plateaus and mountain ranges surrounding the flat central plain where most Cambodians reside. Crisscrossing the plains are the Mekong River and its many tributaries, particularly the Tonle Sap, which millions of Cambodians rely on for transportation, water for irrigation, and fishing. Cambodia had a total population of 13.6 million in 2005, most of whom were rural subsistence farmers of rice. The Cambodian population is relatively homogenous; over 80 percent are ethnically Khmer. Other ethnic groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, and upland minorities. Although Theravada Buddhism is the religion of ethnic Khmer, animism, Islam, and Christianity are also practiced.

■ ■ ■ subsistence farming: farming which does not turn a profit, providing only enough food for the farmers themselves

HISTORY

Ancient Cambodian history was influenced by Indian culture and civilization in terms of arts, religion, language, and architecture. With these influences, the Khmer were able by the ninth century to build the most powerful and sophisticated empire in Southeast Asia. Temple complexes, of which the most famous are Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, stand as evidence of the greatness of Khmer civilization. The empire lasted for over four centuries and controlled much of mainland Southeast Asia. By the middle of the thirteen century, the empire fell and subsequent domestic turmoil and constant invasions by the Thais and the Vietnamese pushed Cambodia to near extinction as a sovereign entity by the nineteenth century. Cambodia became a French protectorate in 1863 and was ruled as a French colony until 1953. To legitimize its rule over Cambodia, the French preserved Cambodia’s monarchical institution, although severely limiting its power. In the early 1950s, sensing the decline of French authority in Indochina, King Sihanouk (b. 1922) G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ autocracy: a political system in which one individual has absolute power regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region neutrality: the quality of not taking sides, as in a conflict

communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

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launched a crusade for Cambodian independence, which was eventually granted in 1953. From then until 1970, by combining his semi-divine status with autocratic rule, Sihanouk ruled single-handedly, playing the various roles of king, chief of state, and prime minister. Political freedom under the regime was restricted. Although Sihanouk allowed elections, they served no genuine democratic purpose. During the 1950s and 1960s, Sihanouk tried to preserve Cambodia’s neutrality amid the escalating tensions in Vietnam that resulted in the Vietnam War (1964–1975). Sihanouk’s foreign policy temporarily staved off the war but the country’s neutrality was later compromised by the infiltration of the North Vietnamese communist forces into Cambodian territory. Sihanouk’s failure to stop the infiltration, compounded by economic problems, offered a pretense for his opponents, led by General Lon Nol (1913–1985) and Sirik Matak (1914–1975), to topple Sihanouk in a coup d’etat in 1970. With Chinese government persuasion and support, the prince in exile in China agreed to form the National United Front of Kampuchea (NUFK), which consisted of royalist supporters and communist forces. These communist forces, whom Sihanouk had dubbed the Khmer Rouge (KR), were under the clandestine leadership of Saloth Sar, better known as Pol Pot (1925–1998). The new Khmer Republic, headed by Lon Nol and Sirik Matak, was initially popular and open. However, due to their inability to curb corruption and military pressure from the alliance of North Vietnamese forces and the NUFK, the Lon Nol government was unable to control the country. The republic was sustained entirely by U.S. aid. Exploiting the devastating conditions caused by the U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War, Sihanouk’s popularity, and initial G O V E R N M E N T S

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Vietnamese protection, the KR recruited thousands of youth from poor families and rapidly built itself into a formidable force. While publicly using Sihanouk’s image, the KR secretly purged royalists from the resistance movement and gradually took control of the NUFK. The KR forces advanced from their rural bases, encircled towns and cities, and eventually captured the capital city of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. This was the defining moment: the beginning of a utopian revolution aimed at the forceful, rapid, and thorough transformation of Cambodian society. Cities and towns were evacuated and their inhabitants forced to engage in agricultural labor. The KR uprooted prerevolutionary institutions such as Theravada Buddhism, statesponsored education, the banking system, markets and money, and the family. The KR imposed uniform social codes that deprived Cambodians of their basic rights, freedoms, and human dignity. Besides the social, cultural, and psychological destruction of Cambodia, the KR caused an estimated 1.7 million deaths from starvation, execution, and overwork, the highest per capita rate of mass killing in modern world history. Economic failure, paranoia, and a sense of ultranationalism led the KR to suspect Vietnam of sabotaging the revolution. In late 1977 and early 1978, the KR launched a series of raids into Vietnamese territory, destroying villages and killing hundreds of civilians. On Christmas Eve of 1978, the Vietnamese responded by invading Cambodia and took control of Phnom Penh on January 9, 1979. The Vietnamese government then installed a communist regime in Cambodia, renamed the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The majority of the regime’s top leaders were former KR cadres who defected to Vietnam in the late 1970s to avoid political purges. The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia was treated by the United States, China, and the Soviet Union as part of the Cold War, prompting each to support differing warring factions over the next decade. The Soviets backed the Vietnamese occupying forces and the PRK while the Chinese and the United States supported a coalition of three antagonistic parties: the KR, the royalist United National Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), and the republican Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF). A stalemate in the civil war and changes in global geopolitics brought the different warring factions to the negotiating table. After four years of protracted negotiations, a comprehensive political settlement was signed in 1991 that would lead to United Nations–organized multiparty elections in 1993.

S O C I O E C O N O M I C C O N D I T I O N S A N D Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E

Cambodia has always been a poor country, a condition worsened by years of civil war, revolution, and international isolation. Cambodia ranked one-hundred-and-thirtieth on the 2004 Human Development Index of the United Nations. Life expectancy at birth was 57 years, and the infant mortality rate remained high at 96 per 1,000 births. Thirty-six percent of Cambodians live below poverty line, set at a U.S. equivalent of just 46 cents per day. The majority of these poor people reside in rural areas engaged in subsistence agricultural production with limited access to supplementary employment. The agricultural sector has improved little due to a lack of export markets, an underdeveloped credit system, and low level of inputs. Other problems include small land holdings, poor access to education, a poor transportation system, and a barely functioning health-care system. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country ultranationalism: an extreme belief, stemming from a fear of foreigners, that one’s home country is superior to all others factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals ■ ■ ■

NORODOM SIHANOUK (B. 1922) Norodom Sihanouk was selected king in 1941 by the French colonial authorities for his youth and pliability. However, Sihanouk became one of the most important and enduring Cambodian political figures. Sihanouk is highly revered by the majority of Cambodians and is considered a symbol of national unity. Because of his status, Sihanouk played an important role in the negotiations leading to the Paris Peace Agreement of 1991 and subsequently in defusing political tension among political rivals. Due to illness, old age, and the rise of Samdech Hun Sen (b. 1951), Sihanouk’s political role has been limited since the late 1990s. He reduced his public appearances and spends most of his time in China for medical treatment. In October, 2004, King Sihanouk resigned his position as king and was replaced on the throne by his son Norodom Sihamoni.

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Although the economy grew an average of 5 percent annually during the first years of the twenty-first century, because of its low base such growth has not generated adequate jobs for the rapidly expanding workforce. Due to widespread corruption and institutional inefficiency, the government has not been able to undertake effective revenue collection. The government has relied on international financial assistance to bank roll over 50 percent of its budget. Annual government expenditure on health-care has increased to an equivalent of $3 per person, an amount insufficient to address numerous existing health issues such as HIV and AIDS, malaria, and high maternal and infant mortality rates.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITIC S ■ ■ ■ abdicate: to renounce or give up power, usually referring to royalty bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

interparty: between or involving more than one party

mandate: to command, order, or require; or, a command, order, or requirement

The 1993 election produced a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy. King Sihanouk reigned from 1993 until October 2004 when he retired and abdicated the throne. Norodom Sihamoni, one of Sihanouk’s sons, then assumed the throne. Although he serves as head of state, the king does not rule. The constitution establishes formal democratic political institutions. The parliament is bicameral, consisting of a National Assembly and a Senate. The National Assembly has 123 seats elected for five-year terms by popular vote based on a proportional representation system. The Senate consists of sixtyone members, whose first term started in 1998; members were selected by political parties with seats at the National Assembly and approved by the king. These members also were to serve five-year terms. However, the scheduled 2004 election for the Senate was suspended because of objections by the two ruling parties, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and FUNCINPEC, to the financial cost. Despite the existence of democratic institutions, power is concentrated in the hands of the executive branch, a coalition of CPP and FUNCINPEC, and dominated by the former. Power is exercised through a web of informal networks sustained by corruption and beset by intraparty and interparty factionalism. Institutions that supposedly function to check the power of the executive branch and top political leaders—those institutions designed to legislate and to implement and uphold the law—are weak. The court system consists of the lower courts, an appeals court, and the Supreme Court. Although judicial independence was enshrined in the constitution, in actuality it is unable to uphold its constitutional mandate. Due to inadequate resources, poor training, and low salaries among judges, prosecu-

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SAMDECH HUN SEN (B. 1951) Samdech Hun Sen was born into a family of modest means. He joined the communist movement in 1968 and fought in the civil war from 1970 to 1975, losing an eye in combat. During the Khmer Rouge period, he served as a deputy regimental commander before fleeing to Vietnam in 1977 to escape political purges. Following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, Hun Sen was appointed foreign minister in 1981 and prime minister in 1985. Although he has

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little formal education, Hun Sen is a quick study and an astute politician. Through a combination of risk taking, ruthlessness, and hard work, Hun Sen has built a network of loyalists and supporters in the security apparatus, bureaucracy, and business. By the turn of the twenty-first century, he had become the undisputed “strongman” of Cambodia.

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tors, and court clerks, the judiciary is inefficient and corrupt. The judiciary is subject to the legislative and executive branches, rendering them unable to serve the public interests. The constitution grants the National Assembly the power to initiate legislation and to oversee the executive branch. However, soon after its inauguration in 1993, the institution quickly became seen as the “rubber stamp” of the government. The National Assembly was never given the opportunity to initiate legislation, nor was it able to call the prime minister to answer questions as outlined in the constitution. Although an opposition party, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) exists, it is too weak to have any impact on the government or the conduct of the National Assembly.

P O L I T I C A L A N D C I V I L L I B E RT I E S

Under the constitution, all Cambodian citizens have equal rights to political participation through periodical elections carried out with universal suffrage accorded to all citizens over eighteen years of age. Cambodians have exercised these rights enthusiastically, as seen in a voter turn-out rate of over 80 percent in each election since 1993. The government does not restrict the establishment of and participation in political parties. Cambodia has forty-six political parties, the majority of which participated in the 2003 general elections. Although some political parties experienced intimidation from local authorities, political parties are generally able to conduct their activities. Freedom of the Press. Since 1993 the press, especially the print media, has

grown remarkably and enjoys substantial freedom. The Cambodian press, however, does not operate with full freedom. It has over the years faced intimidation and periodic government censorship, and several opposition journalists have been assassinated. Many of these newspapers have ties to individual political parties that undermine their objective reporting. Despite this problem, the existence of diverse newspapers has an impact on the political atmosphere and political debate. Broadcast media, on the contrary, is by no means pluralistic. The CPP dominates television and radio broadcasting as all television and nearly all radio stations are either affiliated with or owned by the CPP. The CPP-dominated government has denied broadcasting licenses to the opposition party. Freedom of Association. The constitution guarantees Cambodians the right to form associations. Cambodians have exercised these rights as seen by the growth of civil society organizations in the form of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, and trade unions. These organizations have been involved in many aspects of Cambodian society, ranging from development projects to human rights and democracy advocacy. Despite their shortcomings, including limited management skills, limited experience with democracy, financial dependence on foreign donors, and limited political space (especially in rural areas), some of these NGOs have been active in carving a limited but significant public sphere for civil society. They have generated public awareness of human rights, democracy, transparency, and accountability. More importantly, they have investigated cases of human rights abuse and monitored prison conditions. NGOs have helped to publicize cases of human abuse, bringing them to the attention of the government and the international community. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, demonstrations and strikes have become a venue for people to express their grievances and to influence political or social outcomes. Although some of these demonstrations and strikes have met with government oppression, they signify the creation of a wider democratic space.

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POL POT (1925–1998) Pol Pot was born as Saloth Sar into a prosperous farming family. In 1949, he won a government scholarship to study in Paris, where his radical communist ideas were formed. After returning to Cambodia in 1953, Pol Pot joined the Cambodian communist party working clandestinely first in the city and then in the jungle, and eventually gained total control of the Khmer Rouge (KR) movement. After the KR victory in 1975, Pol Pot became prime minister, although his identity was hidden from the public. From hiding, he ruled over the infamous “Killing Fields.” After the Vietnamese invasion in early 1979, Pol Pot continued to control the KR guerrilla forces. Toward the end of the movement, Pol Pot was placed under house arrest by his former comrades on charges of killing one of his top lieutenants. He was found guilty and sentenced to house arrest, where he died reportedly of a heart attack, in 1998.

■ ■ ■ pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

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VICTIMS’ SKULLS ARE PRESERVED AT THE CHEUNG EK TORTURE CAMP NEAR PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA. Better known as the “Killing Fields,” Cheung Ek was the site of some of the 1.7 million deaths at the hands of dictator Pol Pot and his communist group, the Khmer Rouge. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

CONDITIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

■ ■ ■ signatory: one who signs an agreement with other parties and is then bound to that agreement arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice impunity: an exemption from punishment

Human rights abuses, including political intimidation, alleged politically motivated killings, torture, and ill-treatment of alleged criminals, remain a serious problem. Political violence, including assassinations, occurs around each election cycle, although these acts declined significantly during the 2003 general elections. Despite the fact that the constitution prohibits torture and physical abuse of prisoners and the Cambodian government is a signatory to the International Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, torture and mistreatment continue to be a serious problem. The security forces continue to carry out arbitrary arrests and detention of people without warrants. Police continued to use torture and other abuses to extract confessions from persons in their custody. The fundamental issue perpetuating the widespread abuse is impunity for the perpetrators, particularly members of the security forces. See also: Dictatorship; Vietnam.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. “Cambodia.” Amnesty International Report 2004. New York: Amnesty International, 2004. . Becker, Elizabeth. When the War Was Over: Cambodia’s Revolution and the Voices of Its People. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998. Chanda, Nayan. Brother Enemy: The War after the War. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Chandler, David. Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992. Chandler, David. A History of Cambodia. 3rd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000. Mabbett, Ian, and David Chandler. The Khmers. London: Blackwell Publishers, 1996. National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia. . Osborne, Milton. Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994. Shawcross, William. Cambodia’s New Deal. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1994. Ung Luong. First They Killed My Father. New York: Harper Collins, 2003. United Nations Development Programme. Cambodia Human Development Report 2000. New York: United Nations Development Programme, 2000. . United Nations Statistics. Cambodia. .

Kheang Un

Cameroon In simple terms, Cameroon’s political evolution is a tale of two periods and two personalities. The country’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo (1924–1989), unexpectedly resigned from office in 1982. Radio France International credited him for leaving behind a prosperous and stable country but questioned his failure to allow for political liberalization. Pressured by the Civil Society Movement, his successor, President Paul Biya (b. 1933), has allowed political liberalization but has fallen short in terms of political stability and economic prosperity. When each leader came to power, no one expected either to last long in office. Both Ahidjo and Biya easily defied expert wisdom and remained in office for well over twenty years. Underlying this simplistic picture, however, is a more complicated political reality. Leadership change meant the country experienced a power shift from the northern-dominated Fulani Muslims (Ahidjo’s stronghold) to the southern Christian Betis of the central south (Biya’s stronghold). The contextual framework also saw Ahidjo rule under a one-party structure whereas President Biya presided over a cacophonic multiparty system. The much-heralded reunification of the two republics—one French-speaking and the other English-speaking—in 1961 and the creation of a United Republic in 1972 have today been overshadowed by the emergence of autochthony in which regionalism and place of origin counts far more than national identity. Cameroon has hundreds of different ethnic groups with their customs, languages, and historical attributes still intact. All these factors impact the economic, social, and political processes and make Cameroon a country unlike many others. For critical observers, recent developments place this country on G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ liberalization: the process of lowering trade barriers and tariffs and reducing government economic regulations

republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

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■ ■ ■ plebiscite: a vote by which the people of a country make known their opinions on a proposal or regime

the verge of an implosion whereas romantic analysts still refer to the country as “Africa in miniature.” Cameroon is located on the edge of west and central Africa, but it more easily interacts and identifies itself as a central African state. It has a population of over 15 million people and occupies a territorial space of 475,440 square kilometers (183,525 square miles). Except for frequent territorial disputes with Nigeria, it has good relations with other surrounding countries including Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. The country’s geographic setting extends to the north with dry semidesertic conditions and stretches to the south where it has a wet coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. Between these two extremes are the eastern tropical forests and the grassland region of the western highlands. In Cameroon, traditional social structures serve political and legal functions that have contributed to the country’s relative political stability. These precolonial structures have survived the many political changes throughout history and are immensely beneficial to the central government especially for issues relating to the resolution of local disputes. Overall, there are more than two hundred ethnic groups in contemporary Cameroon. In 1492 the Portuguese gave the area the name Cameroes for the bounty of shrimps found on the Wouri river. The Germans eventually colonized the area in 1884. Following German defeat during World War I (1914–1918), the territory was placed as a League of Nations mandate, administered by the French (the bulk of the area) and the British (two tiny zones in the north and south). Both mandate powers ruled their territories separately from each other. For four decades after the German defeat, there was no Cameroon nation. The French granted independence to their territory on January 1, 1960, but only the southern Cameroon joined with the former French territory on February 11, 1961, to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon with Yaounde as its capital. The northern part of British Cameroon voted in a disputed plebiscite to join Nigeria.

P O S T- I N D E P E N D E N C E S T R U G G L E ( 1 9 6 0 – 1 9 7 2 )

insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority

The 1961 reunification of West Cameroon (English-speaking) with East Cameroon (French-speaking) made Cameroon the only bilingual country in Africa. The two federated entities were essentially multiparty states with the Union Cameroonaise (the dominant party in East Cameroon and a motley of parties led by the Kamerun National Democratic Party) and the Cameroon United Congress playing leading roles in West Cameroon. In the east, Ahidjo, the head of state of the Federal Republic, had to contend with the violent insurgency of the radical nationalists of the Union des Populations du Cameroun. By 1971, the Ahidjo regime put down this movement through the use of force. This success led the president to transform the country’s political structure into one unitary state characterized by a centralized polity, a unicameral legislature (the National Assembly), a single political party, the Cameroon National Union (since 1966), and a new identity: The United Republic of Cameroon.

P O L I T I C A L C O N S O L I DAT I O N ( 1 9 7 2 – 1 9 8 2 )

Cameroon’s peaceful revolution occurred on May 20, 1972. The date has since served as the country’s national holiday. The ultimate beneficiary of the unification was President Ahidjo himself. He no longer had a political rival because the office

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of vice president was abolished, and, after 1975, he appointed the prime minister and his cabinet. As chairman of the one-party system, all his legislative initiatives were passed through the National Assembly. During presidential elections, every five years, he routinely earned 98 to 99 percent of the votes. In the ten years before he resigned from office, Ahidjo turned this political capital into economic success. The main criticism of the new political dispensation was that it stifled any form of opposition. Also, the level of centralization was so burdensome that civil servants had to travel to the capital and stay there for months before getting their first paychecks. Such a tightly controlled political and economic system left the door open for widespread corruption. P O L I T I C A L U N C E R TA I N T Y ( 1 9 8 2 – 1 9 8 5 )

Cameroon’s moment of uncertainty came in November 1982 when Ahidjo announced his resignation as president. His successor was to be the prime minister, Paul Biya, a seasoned technocrat, who had served in key positions

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■ ■ ■ technocracy: government by technicians using scientific expertise and analysis to optimize conditions for the public

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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

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IN REY BOUBA, CAMEROON, FULANI HORSEMEN SIT ATOP RICHLY EMBROIDERED BLANKETS OFTEN FEATURED IN FESTIVALS.

About 13 million Fulani, Muslim nomads, live throughout Africa while comprising 10 percent of Cameroon’s population. (SOURCE:© MICHAEL & PATRICIA FOGDEN/CORBIS)

■ ■ ■ coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

liberalism: a political philosophy advocating individual rights, positive government action, and social justice, or, an economic philosophy advocating individual freedoms and free markets

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since the 1960s. Whether led by his own convictions or troubled by Ahidjo’s meddling, Biya gradually began to assert himself in office, and a political rift between the two leaders became visible. On April 6, 1984, the Republican guard units, still loyal to Ahidjo, staged a coup in an attempt to overthrow President Biya. The rest of the military establishment was able to maintain the Biya regime in office, and the plotters were tried and summarily executed. Ahidjo, who lived in exile in Senegal and France until his death in 1989, denied any connection to the plot even as many of his associates were implicated. Even before the coup attempt, he was tried in absentia, condemned to death but later received clemency from Biya. In 1985, President Biya wrested final control of politics from his predecessor when the Cameroon National Union was dissolved and replaced by the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement. P O L I T I C A L C O N T E S TA T I O N ( 1 9 8 5 – 1 9 9 2 )

After coming to office in 1982, Biya won elections in 1984 and 1988 under his own mandate. Although he promoted a policy of communal liberalism, there was not much freedom in the early years of his presidency. The effects of the G O V E R N M E N T S

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1984 coup led to a difficult political climate in which intimidation and military surveillance of regime detractors had become the norm. After 1985, Biya’s strongest challenge initially came from few anglophone elites who questioned the return to the pre-unification name for the country, “Republique du Cameroun,” and the limited influence of English-speaking citizens in the country’s political system. Protests demanding multipartyism gained ground in the 1990s following arrests all across the country. By the time this movement came to an end, scores of lives had been lost before the government finally consented to multipartyism in 1990. There was also political dissent among the various elements of the francophone majority. These challenges to Biya came at a time when Cameroon’s otherwise buoyant economy began to experience a tailspin. As the country’s politics became more confrontational, the level of productivity suffered, unemployment worsened, crime levels increased, and corruption reached peak levels. For much of the 1990s, Transparency International, a pro-business non-governmental organization, ranked Cameroon among the most corrupt countries in the world.

■ ■ ■ multipartyism: the state of having multiple parties in a party system

POLITY SINCE 1992

In the early twenty-first century, Cameroon’s democracy was young, fragile, illiberal, and unconsolidated. It had all the trappings of a democratic system: political parties, elections, and a free press. However, the number of parties was well into the hundreds. Without an independent electoral commission, election results were often rigged to benefit the governing party. Additionally, although the press and other information channels had multiplied, journalists were still at risk. Under such a decidedly presidential system, President Biya prevailed over a splintered opposition winning controversial elections in 1992 and 1997. The constitutional amendment in 1999 changed the term in office from five to seven years and limited the president to two terms. The most significant opposition party is the Social Democratic Front led by Ni John Fru Ndi (b. 1941). It had a huge momentum in the early 1990s but unwisely boycotted the parliamentary elections of 1992 and was unable to recover afterwards. Its stronghold is the anglophone northwest province, but it also draws support from the western Bamileke province and the main urban areas of the country. Most of the other opposition parties dwindle in influence and appeal—such as the National Union for Democracy and Progress, led by the northerner Bello Bouba Maigari (b. 1947), and the Cameroon Democratic Union of the Bamoun former education czar, Adamou Ndam Njoya (b. 1942), or even the once-radical Union des Populations du Cameroun, dominated by the Bassas in the Littoral province. The failure of the opposition to unite behind a single candidate guarantees victory for the incumbent in the presidential elections. In presidential elections held in October 2004, Biya was reelected with 75 percent of the vote. This left the People’s Democratic Movement as the dominant political party in the country. It commanded 133 seats in the 180-member unicameral National Assembly. The next largest party, the Social Democratic Front, held twenty-one, the Cameroonian Democratic Union had five, and the rest of the twenty-one seats were held by several parties. The legislature has never challenged the presidential dominance of the political system. The legislative period can be shortened or extended by the head of state beyond the constitutionally mandated five-year term. G O V E R N M E N T S

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incumbent: one who currently holds a political office, or, holding a political office

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■ ■ ■ magistrate: an official with authority over a government, usually a judicial official with limited jurisdiction over criminal cases customary law: a law created by the traditions of a community but never officially declared in force coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

militia: a group of citizens prepared for military service in emergency situations

gendarme: a soldier used in civilian police operations

The judicial branch is a reflection of the country’s colonial heritage, as it combines both the French civil law and the English common law. The president makes all judicial appointments including those of the members of the Supreme Court without any legislative input. Many of the country’s magistrates and civil administrators are home-trained in the Faculty of Law and the National School of Administration and Magistracy. A far less publicized but widely utilized legal mechanism is the customary law, or neighborhood initiative, which is significant in the dispute settlement process. Beginning in 1997 the government was a coalition between the People’s Democratic Movement and the National Union for Democracy and Progress. With its meager parliamentary seats, the National Union for Democracy and Progress was only added to the coalition for cosmetic reasons. It gives the image of a broadly represented and somewhat democratic government. The president makes all cabinet appointments, including that of the prime minister, who nominally serves as the head of government. The prime minister in 2004, Peter Mafany Musonge (b. 1942), an anglophone from the southwest, was widely respected at home and abroad for his competent management skills. He was replaced in mid-December 2004 by another southwesterner, Ephraim Inoni (b. 1947), who had served from within the office of the president for several years. As in the Ahidjo years, there is a complex ethnic and geographic arithmetic that goes into the building of a cabinet; many political stalwarts, who have held cabinet positions since the 1970s, have returned or still serve in the government. A broad array of interest groups are represented in the country. Many of them are ethnic, regional, and provincial but also inherently political. Student organizations that spearheaded the protests of the 1990s have benefited far less from the recent political changes as they now have to pay for tuition with no guarantee of a job upon graduation. Several have turned to militia groups like the Presby (the President Biya youths) to gain political recognition. The military, which is made up of the army, the republican guards, the police, and gendarmes, are charged with the defense of the civilian government. They are very visible in Cameroon society and account for regime survival as well as complaints of intimidation and torture. The corps of military generals has been increased to twenty from a meager handful in the 1980s. Apart from its role in domestic tranquility, the military has served as a bulwark in the constant border conflict with giant neighbor, Nigeria.

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THE PRESBY In 1961 English-speaking West Cameroon was reunited with French-speaking East Cameroon, and the two sides have jockeyed for political power ever since. The Anglophones (English-speakers) and the Francophones (French-speakers) continued to distrust each other in the early 2000s, with many anglophone organizations calling for an independent anglophone state.

in his leadership. Young Cameroonians were recruited to join this group in exchange for favors, such as admission to prestigious schools, good jobs, and business assistance. The PRESBY’s opposition was the Southern Cameroon Youth League (SCYL), which supported the anglophone struggle. Anglophones felt they were being treated as second-class citizens under Biya’s leadership.

In 1982 President Paul Biya (b. 1933) and his francophone-dominated government came to power; in 2004 Biya won another seven-year term. An organization called President Biya’s Youth (the PRESBY) was formed early

Over the years the PRESBY has become a governmentsponsored militia that works to intimidate members of the SCYL. Early in the twenty-first century, PRESBY membership stood at an estimated 120,000, with 7,900 officials.

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PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

The port of entry to Cameroon is the seaport and airport city of Douala. A new international airport near Yaounde has been operational since the late 1990s. Rail and road service between Yaounde and Douala have also been improved. The two cities remain the most populated and cosmopolitan in the country. Settlers to the capital city of Yaounde are attracted by the political and administrative infrastructure whereas those who settle in Douala are often involved in business and economic activities. Beyond these two main cities, the road system is not in very good shape and gets even worse away from the urban areas and during the rainy season. Cameroon has invested heavily to develop the tourist industry with the creation of a national park in Waza, an artificial lake created off the Benue River in the north as well as seaport zones in the coastal towns of Kribi and Limbe. Cameroon’s status as a busy conference center is in sharp contrast to the consistently noninterventionist foreign policy of its government. Indeed, the conduct of its foreign policy is neither flashy nor controversial. It maintains membership in various international organizations such as the United Nations, the African Union, the International Organization of Francophonie, the Commonwealth, and the Islamic Organization Conference. Cameroon, however, plays a far more dominant role in the subregional organization, the Central African Customs and Economic Union. Cameroon’s economy has not held pace with the changing times. It has been adversely affected by devaluation of its franc currency, the International Monetary Fund’s austerity measures, and the boycotts and strikes of the 1990s, as well as failing banks and outright corruption. The government for its part solely blames the unfavorable international economic conditions (such as low prices for coffee and cocoa as well as petroleum) for its economic malaise. A government report in 2000 confirmed what had been obvious to most: About 50 percent of the country’s population is poor. Another area of concern is the health sector, which has deteriorated. Patients are expected to buy their own drugs to receive treatment in public hospitals. AIDS is a problem, although it has not reached epidemic levels.

■ ■ ■ cosmopolitanism: a philosophy advocating a worldwide focus as opposed to a focus on the concerns of a specific country or region infrastructure: the base on which a system or organization is built

commonwealth: a government created to advance the common good of its citizens

austere: extremely stern; simple and undecorated

Given the absence of a major crisis like a civil war, famine, or frequent leadership changes, Cameroon has the potential to improve. The political frustration and economic headaches notwithstanding, the country gains inspiration from its enduring peace and the unparalleled success of its soccer team, the Indomitable Lions. To its credit, Cameroon has neither imploded nor looked like a typical African country. It has all the problems that other African countries face but has avoided their pitfalls. See also: Civil Law; Common Law; Presidential Systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Delancey, Mark W., and H. Mbella Mokeba. Historical Dictionary of Cameroon. Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1990. Mars, Laura, director. Nations of the World: A Political, Economic and Business Handbook. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2003. Ramsay, F. Jeffress, ed. Global Studies: Africa. 10th ed. Guilford, CT: McGraw Hill/Dushkin, 2004.

H. Mbella Mokeba

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Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance Wherever one finds elections, one finds money. Add to this truism the fact that citizens always pay for parties and elections, whatever the particular financing scheme (private, public, or some mix). In spite of the apparent significance of the issue, little consensus exists on how, exactly, to set up a campaign finance regime. There are no grand theories on the best system, no set answers to the fundamental questions involved: How much spending is too much? Should the state become involved to ensure a system’s fairness? Is spending the same as free speech? Will an automatic benefit exist for the financially advantaged? Can elections be bought? Most people favor free and fair elections, for this is the foundation of governmental legitimacy. Agreeing on how to get there is another story. Four key areas must be examined to comprehend the vast complexity of campaign finance around the world: regulation, income, expenditures, and public funding.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

A wide range of regulatory activity exists, but some general trends can be identified (one does need, though, to keep in mind that campaign finance laws are always evolving). Leaders of the vast majority of countries believe that the flow of money into politics must be regulated. The reality of, or the potential for, corruption, undue influence, or the misuse of public funds is too serious to ignore. Regulation can include party laws, election laws, tax laws, and laws about transparency in the process. Most countries have laws in place and a set of regulatory bodies to keep a watchful eye on the system and to punish violators. From the United States to Ghana, similar sources of funding for parties and elections may be found. There are differences in the importance of each category, but one is likely to find most types in any given country. These sources include party dues and party-based fund-raising; public funding; donations from individuals, interest groups, and corporations; and kickbacks from recipients of government benefits. Regulations governing this flow of money can be divided into three subareas: disclosure, ceilings, and sources. Just over half of the countries listed by Freedom House (the leading research group evaluating political rights and civil liberties around the world) as free or partly free have rules on the disclosure of income, either by party or donor, but disclosure does not mean such information is publicly available in all cases. The vast majority of countries do not, however, place ceilings on contributions to political parties, donor contributions, or the amount of money parties can raise. A slim majority of countries have chosen to ban some types of donations, but the reasons vary greatly, and no majority is behind any particular type of ban. Concerns about foreign influence are the most apparent, with approximately 40 percent of countries banning foreign donations. Donations from various domestic groups are of much less concern but these bans can include corporations, government contractors, trade unions, and anonymous sources. As with income, the regulatory framework involving expenditures can also be broken down into disclosure and ceilings. In this case, just under half of most countries require the public disclosure of party expenditures. The vast majority of countries (just under three-quarters) do not place a ceiling on election expenditures. The most significant category of regulation in electoral finance is public funding. Public funding exists in two forms, direct and indirect, and plays a role in countries at all levels of political and economic development. Over half of most countries distribute direct public funding for such purposes as general party

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administration and electoral campaigns. Often, this support is meant as assistance, but in a few cases direct support is intended to promote spending equality among parties. Nearly three-quarters of countries worldwide engage in indirect public funding. This funding can take the form of special tax rules, free or discounted mail or phone use, free use of government buildings, or the printing of party ballots. Perhaps one of the most important types of indirect funding that the state is able to distribute is media access. Governments can provide access to state-owned media or mandate free access to private media. The amount of access given to any particular party is determined by a variety of factors; however, nearly half of all countries allocate radio or television broadcast time based on the principle of equal time for all parties.

■ ■ ■ mandate: to command, order, or require; or, a command, order, or requirement

BILL BRADLEY AND SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN JOINED FORCES TO REFORM CAMPAIGN FINANCE.

During their 2000 election-year runs, presidential candidates Bradley and McCain pledged to overhaul the system of campaign finance and end the use of “soft” money.

(SOURCE: © REUTERS/CORBIS)

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Overall, most countries seem to be more willing to do what they can, directly or indirectly, to promote a fair electoral system than they are to restrict or closely regulate the activities of parties, interest groups, or individuals. It is important to reemphasize, however, that as accurate as the generalizations outlined above are, tremendous variation exists. The notion that advanced democracies regulate campaign finance in one specific set of ways and developing countries in another cannot be claimed.

■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence soft money: money that can be spent on a political campaign, independent of a candidate, in order to avoid fund-raising limits hard money: money raised by a political candidate that can be spent directly on campaign activities but is subject to fund-raising limits

However, there are significant differences between these two groups in terms of resource availability, the capacity of the state to uphold rules and enforce regulations, and the degree to which public assets can be exploited by individuals or parties. In many countries in Africa, the use and abuse of public resources are of particular concern. In former communist countries, the hesitancy to involve the state in elections is quite common, even if the state seeks to promote a more equitable system. In the United States constant debate surrounds the appropriate role of money in elections, whether soft money or hard money or funds subject to regulation at all. The complex web of interactions between government and the business sector seems to have allowed corruption to become endemic in Japanese politics. And in Latin America, campaign finance issues compete with developing the fundamental democratic institutions and processes necessary to even be concerned about how the process is financed. Once this first cut along lines of development is made, however, another world of variation comes to life. Any in-depth comparisons of campaign finance systems need to take place at the national level. In one sense, all campaign finance systems work. Party organizations come to life, public opinion is assessed in some way, candidates and parties advertise, people participate in the process, political power is maintained or transferred, and governmental stability is enhanced a little bit more with each election. These are all indicators of a functioning democracy. Given the difficult normative questions involved, conflict about the role of money in a free society with a representative government should be expected. The variation and flux in the systems of campaign finance used around the world indicate that people are continually interested in the transparency and fairness of elections. Over time, this interest and activism helps to clarify the normative and empirical sides of campaign finance. See also: Elections; Political Parties; Representation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Austin, Reginald, and Maja Tjernström, eds. Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns. Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2003. ⬍http://www.idea.int⬎. Election Process Information Collection (EPIC Project). Parties and Candidates. ⬍http://www.epicproject.org⬎. Freedom House Inc. Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org⬎. Williams, Robert, ed. Party Finance and Political Corruption. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

Bryan Brophy-Baermann

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Canada Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, and from the United States to north of the Arctic Circle, Canada is the second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), covering almost 10 million square kilometers (3.9 million square miles). It encompasses five major geographic regions: the temperate Pacific Coast; the interior plains, known for grain production, ranching, oil, and natural gas; the Canadian Shield, which provides minerals like gold, silver, zinc, copper, and uranium; the St. Lawrence Lowlands and Great Lakes, home to Canada’s two largest cities (Toronto and Montreal), its national capital (Ottawa), 50 percent of its population, and 70 percent of its manufacturing output; the Appalachian Region and Atlantic Provinces, with important agricultural and fishing resources; and the Arctic Lowlands, an increasingly important source of diamonds located north of the tree line and subject to harsh climactic conditions.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY

In 2003 Canada’s population reached almost 32 million people. Canada is a country of immigrants, with approximately 17 percent of its population born outside of Canada. English (58%) and French (23%) are the dominant mother tongue languages, and each has status as an official language. However, almost 20 percent of Canadians claim a mother tongue that is neither English nor French. The population also includes almost 1 million Aboriginal Canadians who are descendants of the first people to occupy and establish organized societies in the territory that is now Canada. Aboriginal self-government is an important political issue. Although Aboriginal peoples occupied the land long before European settlement, the modern political history of Canada can be traced to 1534 and 1535, when French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557) discovered the coast of Labrador, explored the St. Lawrence River, and traded with the Huron. In 1608 Samuel de Champlain (c. 1567–1635) founded Quebec City, and twenty-four years later Sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founded Montreal. Quebec became a French royal province in 1663, but in 1759 Britain took Quebec by defeating France on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City. In 1774 Britain passed the Quebec Act, which expanded the borders of Quebec and guaranteed the religious rights of Roman Catholics in the colony. In 1784 United Empire Loyalists, who opposed the American Revolution, began arriving in Canada. In 1841 an Act of Union united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada (today’s provinces of Ontario and Quebec), and in 1864 discussions began in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to establish an independent country. In 1867 the British Parliament passed the British North America (BNA) Act, establishing the Dominion of Canada with the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. From 1870 to 1949 six additional provinces became part of the confederation. In addition, the federal government established two northern territories: the Yukon (1898) and the Northwest Territories (1870). In 1999 the federal government divided the Northwest Territories and established the new territory of Nunavut in its eastern half. The BNA Act established a federal state with a parliamentary system of government. Executive authority was vested in the Crown, with the British monarch (represented in Canada by the governor-general) serving as head of state. The Act divided national legislative authority between a popularly elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate. The Act also distributed legislative powers between the national and provincial governments. From 1980 to 1982 Canada G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently

governor-general: a governor who rules over a large territory and employs deputy governors to oversee subdivided regions

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■ ■ ■ separatism: a belief that two regions should be separated politically

per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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engaged in an intense period of constitutional reform, eventually adopting the Constitution Act of 1982. This new constitution did not fundamentally change the main features of Canada’s government, but it did add a domestic procedure for amending the constitution and a constitutionally entrenched Bill of Rights enforceable by the courts. Canada’s first prime minister was Sir John A. MacDonald (1815–1891), and its first French-speaking prime minister was Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919). From 1945 to 2004 nine men and one woman served as prime minister of Canada; thirty-four of those years were divided among three men: Pierre Trudeau (1919–2000) and Jean Chrétien (b. 1934), both Liberals, and Brian Mulroney (b. 1939), a Progressive Conservative. The only woman to serve—Kim Campbell (b. 1947), a Progressive Conservative—remained in office for just five months. Other notable contemporary political figures include John Diefenbaker (prime minister from 1957–1963), Lester Pearson (prime minister from 1963–1968), Réné Lévesque (first separatist premier of Quebec, from 1976–1985), Audrey McLaughlin (first woman to lead a federal political party, from 1989–1995), Peter Lougheed (premier of Alberta, from 1971–1985), Robert Bourassa (premier of Quebec, from 1970–1976 and 1986–1994), and Mike Harris (premier of Ontario, from 1995–2002). Canada is among the world’s wealthiest nations. It is a member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the G-8 group of industrialized countries (with the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia). Its economic system is market-oriented, and Canadians enjoy a high standard of living. Canada ranks tenth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), below the United States (second) and Switzerland (sixth), but above Australia, Germany, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. From 1992 to 2001 it placed first in the United Nations’ Human G O V E R N M E N T S

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Development Index. It is among the world’s most important trading nations and is party to the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and the United States. Canada and the United States have the world’s largest trading relationship, with more than U.S. $1 billion of goods and services flowing between the two countries each day.

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C A N A D A’ S G O V E R N M E N T

Consistent with its British origins, Canada adopted a Westminster form of parliamentary government at both the national and provincial levels. The principal legislative body at the national level is the House of Commons, which consists of individual members elected from constituencies distributed according to population across the country. The party that wins the most seats in a national election forms the government, and its leader becomes prime minister. The prime minister’s cabinet is selected from the sitting members of parliament of his or her party, and the entire cabinet is responsible to the House of Commons and must maintain the House’s confidence in order to remain in power. This is not difficult when the governing party holds an absolute majority of seats in the Commons, but it can become more problematic if the governing party is in a minority position. If the government does lose a vote in the House on a matter of confidence (e.g., fiscal measures), then the prime minister must ask the governor-general to dissolve the House in order to hold new elections. All of Canada’s provinces have the same form of government. At the national level, Canada also has an upper chamber, the Senate. Nominally designed to represent regional interests, it is an appointed body whose members serve until mandatory retirement at age seventy-five. Although the Senate has extensive formal powers, its lack of electoral legitimacy has reduced its effectiveness. One of the perennial issues of Canadian politics is senate reform, with proposals ranging from abolition to making the Senate a fully equal, effective, and elected body. The basis for Canada’s government is a written constitution, supplemented by unwritten constitutional conventions. In addition to setting out the basic structure of legislative, executive, and judicial power, the constitution defines the division of powers between the national and provincial governments. The national government has jurisdiction over such matters as defense, external relations, criminal law, marriage, and divorce. The provincial governments exercise jurisdiction over matters such as education, health care, and municipalities. The federal government may spend money in areas of provincial jurisdiction, giving it some measure of influence in those domains. Canada was the first country to combine a Westminster form of parliamentary government with federalism. Its British ties explain the parliamentary characteristic of Canadian government, whereas the need to unite two distinctive cultures, languages, and religions under one government explains its federal nature. Indeed, the presence of a French-speaking minority, mostly concentrated in a single province (Quebec), has significantly affected the evolution of Canadian government. In 1976 Quebecers elected a government dedicated to achieving Quebec’s independence from Canada. Four years later the Quebec government held a referendum on “sovereignty-association” with Canada, which attracted the support of 40 percent of voters. The federal government responded with an intense period of constitutional reform from 1980 to 1982. Although it succeeded in establishing a domestic amending formula (rules for amending its constitution without seeking permission from the British parliament) and a Bill of Rights, the federal government failed in G O V E R N M E N T S

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Westminster: a democratic model of government comprising operational procedures for a legislative body, based on the system used in the United Kingdom

absolute: complete, pure, free from restriction or limitation

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

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satisfying Quebec’s concerns, and Quebec refused to sign the new constitution. In 1995 Quebec held a second referendum on its relationship with Canada, and the proindependence option lost by a mere 70,000 votes (50.1–49.9%). On this occasion, the federal government responded by clarifying—and toughening—the rules governing the secession of any province from Canada.

■ ■ ■ secede: to break away from, especially politically

POLITICAL LIFE

bureaucracy: a system of administrating government involving professional labor; the mass of individuals administering government

appellate: a court having jurisdiction to review the findings of lower courts

docket: a list or schedule of cases to be heard by a court

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In legal principle, executive authority in Canada is vested in the Crown, represented by the governor-general, and bills do not become law until they receive royal assent. In practice, the Crown’s role is entirely ceremonial, and effective political power is vested in the prime minister and his or her cabinet. Indeed, the conventions of party discipline and cabinet solidarity mean that a prime minister and cabinet in charge of a majority government have enormous power to pursue their legislative agendas. One concern in the post-1945 period has been the increasing concentration of power in the prime minister’s office and the simultaneous decline in the role of the House of Commons as a legislative body. The bureaucracy has important roles for both policy formation and implementation. Canada has an independent, professionalized public service that executes public policy and provides advice to ministers. Among the most important ministries are Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice, National Defense, and Health. There are also several independent bodies, such as the Bank of Canada, the Auditor General, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which set policy independently and hold the sitting government accountable. The Canadian judiciary is also independent. Federally appointed judges (to the provincial superior and appellate courts, the Federal Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada) hold their offices during good behavior (that is, they cannot be dismissed unless they break the law), with mandatory retirement at age seventy-five. The Supreme Court has nine justices, with a statutory requirement that at least three justices be from Quebec. Each province also has its own system of provincial courts, which decide less serious criminal cases, small claims, and some family law issues. Although Canada generally follows the common law tradition, Quebec uses the civil law system in areas of private law. One of the most important developments in Canadian politics has been the enhanced political power of the Canadian Supreme Court. Established in 1875, the Supreme Court did not become the final court of appeal for Canada until 1949 (superceding the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain). After becoming supreme in fact as well as in name, the Court still served a relatively apolitical function as a private law court. The one exception was in the area of federal-provincial relations, but even those cases amounted to only about five per year. However, in 1975 the Court acquired discretionary control over its docket and began to focus more extensively on public law cases. In 1982, with the enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Court acquired constitutional jurisdiction over questions affecting rights and liberties. The Charter increased the Court’s opportunities for active involvement in policy making by expanding the range of social and political issues subject to the Court’s jurisdiction. From decriminalization of abortion, to redefining the elements of a fair trial, to minority language education rights, and to same-sex marriage, the judicial application of the Charter and the culture of rights surrounding it have changed the legal framework of key public G O V E R N M E N T S

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policies. Scholars and politicians actively debate whether this change has been positive or negative. The Charter enhanced the already extensive protection of rights and liberties in Canadian law. However, the Charter also recognizes that rights and liberties are subject to reasonable limitations in a free and democratic society. For example, the federal government has been able to justify restrictions on tobacco advertising and pornography as reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. On the other hand, religiously motivated Sunday closing laws have been declared unconstitutional, as has the disenfranchisement of federal penitentiary inmates. The rights to vote and to run for office are among those explicitly protected by the Charter. Canada has a long tradition of free and democratic elections.

CENTRE BLOCK ON PARLIAMENT HILL IN OTTAWA, CANADA. Canada’s Senate, House of Commons, and Library of Parliament all reside within the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in the capital of Ottawa. Erected between 1916 and 1927, it also houses governmental offices. (SOURCE © BETTMANN/CORBIS)

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■ ■ ■ nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

Political parties and interest groups operate with very few restrictions. Like many European countries, and unlike the United States, Canada has a multiparty system at the national level. Although only two parties—the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives—have ever formed federal governments, other parties have elected members to the House of Commons in significant numbers since 1945. The most prominent among them have been the New Democratic Party on the Left, the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance on the Right, and the Bloc Québecois party representing the nationalist aspirations of Quebec. In 2003 the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party merged to form a new Conservative Party of Canada. The Canadian constitution specifies that national elections be held at least every five years, but there is no fixed election date (the governing party decides when to dissolve the House and call an election). Every citizen aged eighteen and older has the right to vote. As in many developed democracies, participation in national elections has declined since 1945. For example, in 1945 voter turnout was about 75 percent and reached a high of 79 percent in 1958. However, by the 1990s voter turnout had fallen below 70 percent, with only 61 percent of registered voters casting ballots in 2000. To put this in context, in the U.S. presidential election of 2000, 68 percent of registered voters cast ballots (51% of the voting age population). Similarly, voter turnout in the 2001 British election was 59 percent, well below the average turnout of 74 percent in the three previous general elections. C O N C LU S I O N

proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

At the end of the twentieth century Canada began to concern itself as much with a perceived “democratic deficit” as with national survival. It began to rethink both the nature of its electoral system and how its principal institutions function. Among the specific concerns were particularly low electoral participation by youth, whether Canada should adopt a system of proportional representation (as, e.g., in Germany, Italy, and Israel), and the perceived imbalance of power between cabinet ministers and ordinary members of parliament.

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P O L I T I C A L PAT R O N A G E Political patronage refers to the practice of elected officials appointing fellow party members to government positions, including high-profile assignments, such as ambassadorships, as well as lower-level civil service or blue-collar jobs. The appointee’s party loyalty is the primary qualification, although merit is usually also taken into consideration. In some countries (including the United States), the legislature can review upperlevel political appointments, but it cannot in countries such as Canada that follow the British system of government. Some specific types of patronage include: • Nepotism. Derived from the Latin word for nephew, nepotism refers to patronage based on family relation-

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ships. It is widespread in China, where it is considered a legitimate practice. • Cronyism. Cronyism refers to patronage based on longstanding friendships without any regard for merit. • Clientelism. Clientelism refers to the distribution of food, jobs, or similar payoffs to citizens before an election in exchange for their votes. Clientelism is most common in new democracies with sharp class distinctions, such as Argentina, Russia, Benin, Vietnam, Bulgaria, the Philippines, and Peru, but it also can be found in established democracies; one example would be delivery of food to the elderly in an election year.

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Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919), prime minister from 1896 to 1911, once said that the twentieth century would belong to Canada. The twentieth century was, indeed, kind to Canada, which became a wealthy, politically free country that is a magnet for immigrants from around the world. Its challenge for the twentyfirst century is to maintain that status. See also: Constitutional Courts; Constitutional Monarchy; Federalism; United Kingdom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Archer, Keith et al. Parameters of Power: Canada’s Political Institutions, 2nd ed. Toronto, Canada: ITP Nelson, 1999. Government of Canada. About Canada. ⬍http://canada.gc.ca/acanada⬎. Manfredi, Christopher. Judicial Power and the Charter: Canada and the Paradox of Liberal Constitutionalism, 2nd ed. Toronto, Canada: Oxford University Press, 2001. Morton, Desmond. A Short History of Canada, 6th ed. Toronto, Canada: McClelland and Stewart, 2001. Statistics Canada. ⬍http://www.statcan.ca⬎.

Christopher P. Manfredi

Cape Verde The Republic of Cape Verde is a small drought-scourged West African country located 480 kilometers (300 miles) due west of the westernmost point of Africa. This archipelago of fifteen islands and islets was colonized by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. Due to its strategic location, Cape Verde became a major trading center for the Euro-African slave trade and later served as an important refueling site and communication center. Of the islands’ estimated 412,137 inhabitants, the majority are of European and African descent. Following independence in 1975, after more than five hundred years of colonial rule, a one-party state was established and maintained until multiparty elections were held in 1990. Despite economic hardship due to poor natural resources and impending drought conditions, Cape Verde exhibits one of Africa’s most stable and democratic governments.

■ ■ ■ archipelago: a chain of islands in close proximity to one another

In the 1950s, Cape Verde was linked with Guinea-Bissau under a unified nationalist movement, the African Party of Independence of Guinea and

Cape Verde (PAIGC). Following more than a decade of nationalist struggle, Cape Verde became independent on July 5, 1975. Subsequently, both Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau were jointly governed by the PAIGC. Following a coup in Guinea-Bissau in 1980, political unification was abandoned, and the Cape Verde branch of the party was renamed the African Party of Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). From 1981 to 1990 the PAICV was the only legal party.

nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

Increasing pressure from opposition groups and donors led to the abolition of the one-party state in favor of multiparty democracy in the fall of 1990. The country’s first multiparty elections resulted in a decisive victory for the Movement for Democracy (MPD) and the appointment of Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro (b. 1944) as president and Carlos Veiga as prime minister. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Both men were reelected in 1996. In 2001, the PAICV regained power when Pedro Pires (b. 1934) was elected president and Jose Neves was appointed prime minister. In 1992 a new constitution was implemented marking the beginning of “the municipality: local governmental units, Second Republic.” The new Cape Verdean constitution defines the island nation usually cities or towns as democratic, unitary, and sovereign. Furthermore, the constitution gives assent to popular will, guarantees peace, justice, human dignity, human rights, and, as its main objective, seeks to create a free, just, and equitable society. The new constitution underwent major revisions in 1995 and 1999, substantially increasing the power of the president and creating the position of national ombudsman. According to the constitution, the president of Cape Verde CAPE VERDE is elected by universal adult suffrage for a period of five years, 50 100 Miles 0 and a two-thirds majority is needed to win the first round of the Santo Antão presidential election. If the requisite majority is not secured, a Ribeira 50 100 Kilometers 0 Grande Ribeira new election is held within twenty-one days and contested by Pombras da Cruz Janela the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in Porto Novo Tarrafal Sal Vila da Mindelo the first round. Further, all voting is done by secret ballot, and Ribeira Brava S. Pedro Madeiral Palmeira Pedra Lume Tarrafal Figueira de Coxe legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, which is São Preguiça Juncalinho Santa Vicente Luzia Pta. do Sinó Castilhiano elected by popular vote. The prime minister is nominated by the Santa Maria Pta. da Branco Carrical Vermelharia National Assembly and appointed by the president. The execuPreguiça Razo Fundo de Pta. de Sol São Nicolau tive branch also includes a Council of Ministers, who are Sal Rei Figueiras Baja das Gates N appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Curral Boa Vista Velho prime minister. In addition, there are seventeen municipalities. E W The legal system is based on the Portuguese legal system. São Tiago S The government of Cape Verde also maintains diplomatic and Maio Tarrafal working relations with organizations such as the African São Sto. Antonio Tiago Fogo Barca Pico do Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Vila do Maio Cano Assomada S. Jorge 9,281 ft. Sta. Ana Brava United Nation’s Group of Seventy-Seven (G-77), the United 2829 m. Cidade Praia Vila de Nova São Filipe Velha Nation Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Sintra (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization, among others. ombudsman: a government official that researches the validity of complaints and reports his findings to an authority

ATLANTIC

See also: Guinea-Bissau. Cape Verde

OCEAN

BIBLIOGRAPHY Lobban, Richard. Cape Verde: Crioulo Colony to Independent Nation. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

Lobban, Richard, and Marlene Lopes. Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cape Verde. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1995.

Paul Khalil Saucier

Caribbean Region The Caribbean evokes many images: warm beaches and tropical rhythms, slavery and plantations, poverty contrasted with celebrity hideaways, endangered species, dictatorship, and democracy. Beyond the stereotypes lie diverse peoples, political systems, and cultures. The Caribbean is both a geographic region and a group of cultures with a common history. To the north are the Greater Antilles, consisting of Cuba, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and

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ST. LUCIA NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

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(MAP BY XNR PRODUCTIONS/ THE GALE GROUP)

Haiti), Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. To the south, the many islands of the Lesser Antilles bend southeastward to the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, lying within sight of Venezuela. Possessing a common history and political legacy, other nearby countries such as Belize, Guyana, French Guyana, and Suriname are also considered part of the Caribbean region. A striking geographic feature of most Caribbean states is their small size. Cuba (110,861 square kilometers; 42,790 square miles) is the largest nation, about the same size as Pennsylvania. Tiny Anguilla (134 square kilometers; 52 square miles) is the size of Washington, D.C. Although small, many of these islands are densely populated. Barbados (621 persons per square kilometer; 1,608 persons per square mile) has twice the population density of the United Kingdom and three times that of Japan. Small size, limited resources, and regular occurrence of natural disasters contribute to the region’s vulnerability.

HISTORY

The contemporary story of the Caribbean begins with the European invasion of 1492 and the subsequent elimination of the Arawak and Carib populations. Settlers needing cheap labor began importing African slaves in 1502. As the 1700s ended, more than one million slaves lived in the region. Caribbean slaves constantly struggled against their plight, creating a longing for freedom that still colors the outlook of Caribbean society. Britain abolished slavery in 1834, and France in 1848, but the institution remained in Cuba until 1886. As Europe’s major nineteenth-century power, Britain controlled most of the Caribbean, while the holdings of France, Spain, and the Netherlands gradually dwindled. In 1804 a slave revolt led Haiti to independence, followed by the Dominican Republic in 1844. Cuba and Puerto Rico found their fight for G O V E R N M E N T S

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P R I N C I PA L E C O N O M I C SECTORS Tourism Agriculture: sugar, coffee, tobacco, bananas, spices Financial services: offshore banking, insurance, corporate and marine “flags of convenience” Mining: bauxite in Jamaica and the Guyanas, nickel in Cuba Light manufacturing Petroleum: Trinidad and Tobago, Dutch West Indies

■ ■ ■ federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived Monroe Doctrine: the statement by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823 declaring that Europe should stay out of American and Latin American affairs interventionism: the policy of involving oneself in another’s affairs, especially one nation to another

globalization: the process of expanding regional concerns to a worldwide viewpoint, especially politics, economics, or culture

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independence subsumed by the Spanish-American War in 1898. Although most Cubans welcomed the end of Spanish rule, friction over the United States’ intervention dominated the political landscape for years afterward. The path to independence for the British possessions, now called the Commonwealth Caribbean, was relatively peaceful. Locals were gradually included in education and civic life, although critics found the processes paternal and slow. Strikes and unrest in the 1930s led to a reexamination of colonial policies. After World War II (1939–1945), local self-rule and suffrage was expanded. Independence was envisioned through integrating colonies into a federal system. In 1958 the West Indies Federation was formed on a wave of optimism, but it soon disbanded due to nationalist aspirations, leadership conflicts, and mistrust between large and small islands. Instead of joining a federation, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago each became independent in 1962. Over the next twenty years, some islands maintained close ties with Britain as associated states while others became independent. The United States played a major role in Caribbean life. Motivated by the ideologies of the Monroe Doctrine (1823) and manifest destiny, economic expansionism, and national defense, the United States took an active interest in its Caribbean “backyard” as the nineteenth century ended. Invasion and occupation of Haiti (1915–1934), the Dominican Republic (1916–1924), and continued domination of Cuba left a legacy of both conflict and cooperation. During the Cold War, interventionism returned as the United States interjected troops into the Dominican Republic in 1965, assisted Cuban opponents of communist leader Fidel Castro’s (b. 1926) regime with the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, invaded Grenada in 1983, and provided covert assistance to political allies across the region. The United States also sent economic aid and investment, which was welcomed by some but seen as exploitative by others. At the end of the twentieth century the United States was the largest trading partner of many Caribbean nations. For its part, the Soviet Union provided aid to Cuba and other states until the Cold War’s end. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SETTING

Jamaica’s national slogan “Out of many, one people” can be applied to the Caribbean as a whole. The largest ethnic group is comprised of the descendents of African slaves. Many people are of mixed ethnic background, and small numbers of Europeans, Asians, and Arabs live in the region. Contract workers from India, locally called East Indians, immigrated in large numbers beginning in 1845. East Indians make up 41 percent of the population in Trinidad and Tobago and 50 percent in Guyana. Race and racism color Caribbean politics. Some people see a link between wealth, influence, and race. In the former Spanish colonies the political and financial elite remain strongly European. In the Commonwealth Caribbean, especially in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, ethnic pluralism has divided political parties along racial lines. Race consciousness has had positive influences as well. Independence awakened interest and pride in the cultural contributions of Africans in the Caribbean, who were later joined by East Indian and other groups. An explosion of uniquely Caribbean artistic expression characterizes the region. Religion has been shaped by colonialism, slavery, immigration, and globalization. In the European colonies, Roman Catholicism is dominant. Protestant, Jewish, and Islamic communities are also present. Nondenominational Christian prayer groups and revival meetings attract large followings in some countries. In G O V E R N M E N T S

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Aruba, 95 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. Anglicanism and other Protestant traditions have a strong presence in the former British colonies. In Barbados, 67 percent of the population is Protestant, 4 percent is Roman Catholic, and 17 percent report no religious affiliation. Where East Indians live, Hindu temples dot the landscape. Suriname, reflecting the diverse makeup of its people, is 27 percent Hindu, 19 percent Muslim, 22 percent Roman Catholic, and 25 percent Protestant. Caribbean religion also draws strongly on African traditions encompassing Santeria, Vodoun (Voodoo), Macumba, Obeah, and Rastafarianism. Historically, organized religion was tied to the elite and served as a defender of the status quo. The advent of the liberation theology perspective in the Roman Catholic Church, along with the emergence of reform-minded clergy in other denominations, produced a more critical view of society.

■ ■ ■ liberation theology: a hybrid of Marxism and Catholic doctrine, advocating social justice through salvation; especially posited by some Latin American clergy

CARIBBEAN ECONOMIES

Before Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) sailed to the region from Europe, the Caribbean people subsisted more or less in harmony with nature. Conquest altered the human and physical landscape. The colonies used slave or underpaid labor to export cheap raw materials to Europe while importing food and goods. The result was poverty and distorted development. Caribbean people became vulnerable to the outside world long before the term “globalization” was coined. As local control grew during the twentieth century, governments pursued creative strategies to reduce dependency. Puerto Rico’s “Operation Bootstrap” in the 1950s made the island an offshore manufacturing platform for the United States. Other nations have stressed tourism, financial services, and tax-free industrial zones. Trinidad and Tobago, a lucky exception, has large oil and gas deposits to underpin its economy. Although other Caribbean nations are strongly capitalist, in Cuba the government, not the markets, dominates economic life. Economic reform and experimentation has had mixed results. Tourism dominates in many states, representing 60 percent of Barbados’s gross domestic product, 40 percent in Jamaica, and nearly 30 percent in Cuba. Seeking new visitors, the Caribbean has developed nature and adventure tourism alongside traditional “surf and sand” resorts. Tourism, however, is a mixed blessing. Tourists’ tastes change rapidly, cruise ships bring short-term visitors who do not spend money on hotels or meals, jobs can be low-paying, and crime or hurricanes can deter visitors. The Caribbean struggles with free trade and privatization. Globalization has increased investment but lowered agricultural export earnings. Caribbean wages are higher than those paid by employers in Africa or Asia. The World Trade Organization objects to special trade arrangements the Caribbean enjoys with the European Union. Privatization and budget cuts have eliminated government jobs. Many residents, fearful that employment opportunities are declining, have chosen to emigrate. People in the Caribbean nonetheless enjoy a relatively good standard of living, with sufficient levels of nutrition, high literacy rates, and good public health facilities. According to the United Nations, seven Caribbean states have reached a “high level of human development,” nine are at the “medium” level, and only Haiti has a “low” level. The Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM) was established in 1973 to create a single market and foster regional cooperation. All Commonwealth Caribbean independent states plus Haiti are CARICOM members, with others holding associate member status. A free trade agreement between CARICOM and the Dominican Republic was signed in 2000. CARICOM goals include G O V E R N M E N T S

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platform: a statement of principles or legislative goals made by a political party

free trade: exchange of goods without tariffs charged on importing or exporting

emigration: the migration of individuals out of a geographic area or country

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TA B L E 1 Caribbean Government Types Date of independence in parentheses

Associated territory

Republic/Commonwealth

France: French Guyana Guadeloupe Martinique Saint Barthelemy Saint Martin

Cuba (1902) Dominica (1978) Dominican Republic (1844) Guyana (1966) Haiti (1804) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983) Trinidad and Tobago (1962)

The Netherlands: Aruba Bonaire Curacao Saba Saint Maarten

Constitutional Monarchy/ Parliamentary Democracy Antigua & Barbuda (1981) Bahamas (1973) Barbados (1966) Belize (1981) Grenada (1974) Jamaica (1962) Saint Lucia (1979) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(1979)

United Kingdom: Anguilla British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos United States: Puerto Rico Virgin Islands SOURCE:

Courtesy of author.

inclusion in the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement liberalizing trade among countries in North and South America. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), encompassing Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Granada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and the British Virgin Islands, was created in 1981 to promote political, social, environmental, and economic cooperation and to address the unique challenges faced by small island states. The OECS has set the ambitious goal of creating a single economy among its members with the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. OECS members share the Eastern Caribbean dollar and monetary policy managed by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. A companion body to the OECS is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Created in 1967, the court manages the members’ legal systems, oversees educational resources, and hears appeals. Like other Commonwealth Caribbean states, OECS countries retain the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London as the court of last resort. CARIBBEAN GOVERNMENTS

Caribbean governments fall into three categories: associated territories, constitutional monarchies (also called parliamentary democracies), and fully independent states.

■ ■ ■

Associated Territories. Associated territories are not legally sovereign and rely

sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity

on Europe or the United States for defense, diplomacy, and economic policy. All have some local democratic rule and may have observer status in international organizations, field sports teams abroad, and pursue a separate identity for themselves internationally.

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The French Overseas Territories are part of the French Republic and have some local autonomy. In Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles the Dutch monarch is head of state. A unicameral legislature sets policy and selects a prime minister as head of government. The British territories share the monarch as head of state and similar governmental structures. In the Westminster parliamentary system, local elected legislative councils chose a prime minister to lead the government. Local courts provide initial and appellate judicial proceedings, with the court of last resort residing in London. The United States has had colonies of its own. In the Caribbean, the Spanish-American War (1898) made Puerto Rico a possession of the United States, and the Virgin Islands were purchased by the United States in 1917. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth associated with the United States; Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917 but do not vote in presidential elections. The relationship with the United States has been a source of controversy and occasional violence by a small independence movement. Other Puerto Ricans have advocated statehood. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. The U.S. Virgin Islands are an unincorporated territory managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Residents are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in presidential elections. Governance is defined by the Revised Organic Act of July 22, 1954, which grants a locally elected governor and senate.

■ ■ ■ unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body Westminster: a democratic model of government comprising operational procedures for a legislative body, based on the system used in the United Kingdom appellate: a court having jurisdiction to review the findings of lower courts

plebiscite: a vote by which the people of a country make known their opinions on a proposal or regime

Constitutional Monarchies and Parliamentary Democracies. Like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, some Commonwealth Caribbean states retain the British monarch as head of state but are otherwise fully sovereign. A Westminsterstyle parliament selects the cabinet and prime minister, and together they make legislation and administer the nation. Elections are held when the government loses its majority in parliament or every five years, whichever comes first. Domination of the legislative and executive agenda, as well as the power to schedule elections, gives the ruling party an advantage over its opponents.

The British monarch personifies the ties that bind the Commonwealth Caribbean and England. As in colonial times, the monarch is represented incountry by a governor-general, who is chosen by the local government. The governor-general’s duties are symbolic, but he or she can greatly affect the country. For example, when the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada collapsed in fratricidal violence in 1983, the invading U.S. troops immediately sought to secure the safety of Governor-General Paul Scoon (b. 1935), thus symbolizing a return to legal order.

governor-general: a governor who rules over a large territory and employs deputy governors to oversee subdivided regions

A legacy of colonialism is the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which as of 2004 remained the final appellate court for the Commonwealth Caribbean. Not originally controversial, the court has been criticized by the attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago and others. These critics wish to sever this tie to England as a symbol of true independence. Negotiations to replace the Judicial Committee with a Caribbean Court of Justice began in the 1970s. A timetable for countries to join the new court was created in 2004. Fully Independent States. The Caribbean is home to a variety of republics and commonwealths. In the former British colonies a locally appointed president replaces the monarch as head of state; in other respects, their Westminster-style institutions are similar to those of the constitutional monarchies. The Spanish Caribbean republics—Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti—have been plagued by military coups, tyrannical dictators, and human rights abuses. After a civil war in 1965 the Dominican Republic gradually replaced dictatorship with

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elections, multiple parties, and a stable government. The Cuban Revolution of 1959, rather than building Western-style institutions, established a communist system of government based on single-party rule and fundamentally different assumptions about politics, power, and citizen participation. Haiti’s dream of building an open and competitive political system that respects human rights is ongoing. The nation’s political challenges reflect a people racked by poverty, stark divisions between rich and poor, depleted resources, and environmental degradation. Although the international community provides some assistance, Haiti’s plight often drifts from the global public’s view. POLITICAL STYLE IN THE CARIBBEAN

■ ■ ■ mosaic: politically, the alliance of diverse people or groups

The cultural mosaic of the Caribbean has produced distinct political styles. The Dominican Republic has known dictators such as Rafael L. Trujillo (1891–1961), who ruled with an iron fist from 1930 until he was assassinated in 1961. With the exception of Cuba, haunted by the dramatic, charismatic, and controversial leadership style of Fidel Castro (b. 1926), the caudillo (military strongman) is a thing of the past in the Spanish Caribbean.

ANGUILLA CELEBRATES AUGUST MONDAY AND CARNIVAL WEEK FEATURING THE PARADE OF TROOPS AND COSTUMED PERFORMERS IN 1996.

On the first Monday of the month, August Monday commemorates the end of British slavery in Anguilla in 1834. The Caribbean country remains a willfully dependent territory of Britain. (SOURCE © LAYNE KENNEDY/CORBIS)

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Political evolution of the Commonwealth Caribbean, steeped in British formalism, has been less dramatic than that of its Spanish-speaking neighbors. Leaders of the independence movement proudly sought to beat the English at their own game by earning university scholarships to Oxford or Cambridge, winning at cricket, and creating stable political institutions mirroring Westminster. Nonetheless, politics in the Commonwealth Caribbean have also boasted plenty of local style, charisma, and occasional violence. Jamaican Michael Manley (1924–1997), who served three terms as prime minister, was a gifted orator who commanded the global spotlight as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement of lessdeveloped nations in the 1980s. The prime minister of Dominica, Eugenia Charles (b. 1919), was compared to Britain’s “iron lady” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925). Trinidad and Tobago’s Basdeo Panday (b. 1933) worked in a sugarcane refinery as a youth, earned a law degree in England, became an advocate for sugar workers, and was elected the nation’s first East Indian prime minister. The Commonwealth Caribbean’s early leaders founded movements based on their personal appeal and promises to wring concessions from the British. In the 1970s, Grenada’s New Jewel Movement embraced violence and a radical agenda, whereas the Jamaican Labour Party in the 1980s shared the conservative views of Thatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1911–2004). Modern Caribbean political parties are less ideological, however, appealing to broader sectors of society. In some states, parties are based on patron-client relationships promising jobs and services. Critics contend that patronage leads to political tribalism and conflict. In Jamaica posses, or urban gangs, are recruited by political parties to distribute favors, maintain loyalty, and get out the vote. Although competition can turn violent, political violence is generally the exception. Indeed, most residents of the Caribbean were shocked in 1990 when a Trinidadian Islamic group attempted a coup and held the prime minister hostage for several days. Political Challenges. Most governments in the Caribbean faced a crisis of con-

fidence from the public in the early twenty-first century. In some states corruption is a longstanding issue. In others it is a relatively new concern, one which, when combined with growing crime, drug use, and declining services, calls into question the legitimacy of leaders and institutions. Cynicism and a nostalgic longing for romanticized better days are common reactions among the citizenry. Restoring the public’s confidence in government is a major challenge, along with maintaining and improving the standard of living in an era of globalization.

THE CARIBBEAN AND THE WORLD

Caribbean governments are the product of globalization. The region participates in the global community through diplomacy, trade, cultural activities, and politics. Caribbean states belong to the United Nations and the Organization of American States and have participated in peacekeeping operations. Some nations, such as Barbados, with its economic progress and democratic political culture, are the envy of other developing countries. Cuba, for all the controversy that surrounds it, is celebrated for its achievements in health care and education. Haiti, on the other hand, reminds the world that much work remains. Ironically, people in the Caribbean chafe at foreign domination, yet simultaneously fear being ignored by rich and powerful nations. Often the world looks to the Caribbean only when a natural disaster or political drama temporarily captures the headlines. Caribbean nations—small and vulnerable but fiercely independent, hardworking, and creative—must cooperate with one another and with the global community to survive. G O V E R N M E N T S

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See also: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; British Virgin Islands; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Netherlands Antilles and Aruba; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allahar, Anton, ed. Caribbean Charisma: Legitimacy and Political Leadership in the Era of Independence. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 2001. Barrows-Giles, Cynthia, ed. Introduction to Caribbean Politics: Text and Readings. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 2002. Brereton, Bridget, ed. UNESCO General History of the Caribbean, Vol. 5: The Caribbean in the Twentieth Century. London: McMillan Caribbean, 2004. Caribbean Community Secretariat. Single Market and Economy. Georgetown, Guyana: Caribbean Community Secretariat, 2004. ⬍http://www.caricom.org/archives/ csmebooklet.pdf⬎. Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D’Agostino. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003. Knight, F. W., and C.A. Palmer. The Modern Caribbean. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. Payne, Anthony, and Paul Sutton, eds. Modern Caribbean Politics. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. Ramos, Aaron Gamalier, and Angel Israel Rivera, eds. Islands at the Crossroads: Politics in the Non-Independent Caribbean. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2001. Tulchin, Joseph S., and Ralph H. Espach, eds. Security in the Caribbean Basin: The Challenge of Regional Cooperation. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.

Dennis R. Gordon

Censorship In the strict sense, censorship refers to government suppression of specific ideas, forms of expression, or speakers. Private corporations, media conglomerates, schools, and even individuals can effectively suppress speech as well, even though this is not censorship in the technical sense. In ancient Rome, the “censor” was a high public official who, among other duties, controlled public morals. Official censors still exist in some places, while elsewhere more subtle forms of censorship are practiced. Certain subjects have been regular targets of censorship, particularly those involving sex, politics, and religion, singly or in combination.

S E X UA L C O N T E N T

The Athenian playwright Aristophanes (450–388 B.C.E.) had his plays banned in the fifth century B.C.E., in part because of obscenity. In 1818 Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825) published a “family edition” of Shakespeare (1564–1616), which he edited in order to omit any sexually-related content. In 1872 Anthony Comstock (1844–1915) and the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice campaigned successfully to censor information about sex and reproduction, resulting in the passage of the Comstock laws in 1873. Particularly after World War II (1939–1945), pornography—considered tasteless and degrading by some and sinful and depraved by others—became the target of censorship efforts in the United States.

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THE COMSTOCK ACT In 1873 the U.S. Congress passed an anti-obscenity statute known as the Comstock Act. It is an unmistakable example of state-sponsored censorship and the legal imposition of cultural values. Called the Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles for Immoral Use, the law made it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent or disgusting” literature through the mail. Pamphlets discussing contraceptives were deemed obscene and barred from distribution through the mail. It also became a federal offense to distribute birth control through the postal service or across state lines.

The act was named after Anthony Comstock (1844–1915), a leader of the New York Committee for the Suppression of Vice. Comstock was appointed a special agent for the postal service and was given the right to seize mail he deemed obscene. Local postmasters were granted this power as well. Following passage of the federal act, many states enacted their own Comstock laws. In Connecticut, for instance, it became illegal to possess contraceptives and married couples were subject to arrest for using birth control in their own homes. Though portions of the laws were slowly repealed, remnants remained on the books well into the 1990s.

Sex education was one of the first victims of the censorship of sexual content. Under the Comstock laws, Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) was arrested and jailed in 1916 for distributing information about birth control. In the early twenty-first century, censorship of sex education persisted in the United States in public school programs, with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 promoting “a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage [as] the expected standard of human sexual activity,” and excluding information inconsistent with this message. The American Library Association regularly reports on efforts to remove material with sexual scenes or references from classrooms and school libraries, including The Diary of Anne Frank (1947), Russell Banks’ novel Continental Drift (1985), Sophie’s Choice (1979) by William Styron, and Seventeen magazine, because an advice column answers questions about sex. In the United States, “indecent” sexual content has long been banned on network television and radio. Unlike obscenity, which is legally defined as material that 1) is patently offensive, 2) appeals solely to the prurient interest, and 3) lacks scientific, historical, literary, or other value, indecency is a vague and subjective term that varies depending on the government official applying it. Even though the United States does not ban sexual content in films, the mainstream film industry adopted its own restrictions, first under the Hays Code and later through the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system. Because the rating affects distribution, filmmakers have a financial incentive to tailor their films to obtain the desired rating, which often means that sexual scenes are edited out for U.S. audiences. Pornography is protected in the United States, unless it can be proven obscene by the standards of the state. Internationally, however, it is one of the most frequently banned forms of sexual expression. It was censored throughout Eastern Europe until the dissolution of the Soviet bloc; it is banned in many Arab countries; and is strictly regulated elsewhere. In spite of attempts at regulation, the Internet provides increased access to this ubiquitous yet controversial type of expression. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ prurient: lewd, immature, or childlike

Hays Code: a law governing the regulation of moral content in motion picture production; it was put into force from 1930 through 1967

bloc: a group of countries or individuals working toward a common goal, usually within a convention or other political body

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POLITICAL SPEECH ■ ■ ■ hegemony: the complete dominance of one group or nation over another regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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Since Confucius’s (551–479 B.C.E.) writings were burned around 250 B.C.E., when a new dynasty came to power, rulers have tried to squelch political criticism, dissent, and alternative belief systems deemed essential to their hegemony. Nazi Germany provides perhaps the most infamous example of a regime that openly embraced censorship as a way to advance its philosophy and goals. Press censorship, restricted access to information, and propaganda were used to manipulate public opinion. Books were burned if they were deemed to “act subversively on our future or strike at the root of German thought, the German home and the driving forces of our people” (Green 1990, p. 30). Jews and communists were considered “racially inferior” and “politically unsound,” and their works were banned; artwork by Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Paul Klee (1879–1940), Marc Chagall (1887–1985), Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), and others was condemned as the “products of morbid and perverted minds” (Green 1990, pp. 106–107). The Nazi regime may have been most extreme in its use of censorship, but it was hardly alone. Suppression of political speech in the former Soviet Union was legendary, ensnaring luminaries such as Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989) and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918). In Zimbabwe, music censorship chokes off a culturally important avenue of peaceful political protest, and in China, Indonesia, Singapore, and many other countries, restrictions on Internet access may be enforced through criminal sentences. Dozens of reporters are killed around the world each year, some because of where they are reporting, others for what they are reporting. Censorship is a common response to calls for economic, political, and social change, as advocates frequently learned. In the United States Emma Goldman (1869–1940), a well-known radical, went to jail for encouraging unemployed workers to demonstrate, as did Eugene Debs (1855–1926), who protested against World War I (1914–1918). Later, the infamous “cointelpro,” or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counterintelligence program, was created by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (1895–1972) to infiltrate groups promoting peace and civil rights, and search for subversives. Notwithstanding these setbacks, protesters—from suffragettes to union organizers to “women’s lib” and gay pride marchers—ultimately achieved many of their goals, demonstrating the close link between civil liberties and civil rights. Nonetheless, underlying sociocultural tensions over rights issues periodically erupt in censorship disputes. Books such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) continue to be attacked for the use of racial epithets, and books such as Lesléa Newman’s Heather Has Two Mommies (1989) are repeated subjects of criticism for representing same-sex relationships in a positive light. Suppression of political dissent resurfaced in the United States after the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. Press access to military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq was restricted, and unclassified information was deleted from libraries and government websites. College and university faculty have been disciplined for criticizing the government, and the University of North Carolina was attacked for assigning a book on the Qur’an. The FBI investigated a college student with an antiwar poster and a gallery containing antiwar art, while the Pentagon banned press photographs of coffins holding the remains of soldiers killed in Iraq. Political censorship in the United States has not been confined strictly to the political arena, however. In 2004 some 4,000 scientists—including 48 Nobel laureates, 62 recipients of the National Medal of Science, and 127 members of the

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National Academy of Sciences—issued a statement protesting government misrepresentation of scientific fact. The scientists’ statement accused the government of using the distortion for political gain, depriving the public of key information. RELIGION

In 399 B.C.E., Socrates (470–399 B.C.E.) was convicted for his religious beliefs and corrupting youth; he was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. In the Middle Ages (C.E. 500–1500), the Talmud was burned throughout Europe. In 1535 William Tyndale (1494–1536) was burned at the stake for translating the Bible from Latin into English. The Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist Galileo (1564–1642) had his books burned because his theories conflicted with Catholic Church dogma; in 1633 he was forced to recant and placed under house arrest. Finally, the Index Liborum Prohibitorum (“Index of Forbidden Books”), which identified books the Catholic Church considered immoral or heretical, existed from 1571 to 1965.

■ ■ ■ heresy: an opinion about religion that contradicts that of an organized church

YOUNG NAZIS ROAR WHILE SO-CALLED UN-GERMAN BOOKS ARE SET ABLAZE IN BERLIN, GERMANY. In an effort to destroy Jewish and other literature not fitting the Nazi culture, Nazi propaganda leader Joseph Goebbels initiated the massive burning of around 25,000 books on May 10, 1933. (SOURCE © CORBIS)

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■ ■ ■ fundamentalism: a philosophy marked by an extreme and literal interpretation of religious texts and an inability to compromise on doctrine or policy secularism: a refutation of, apathy toward, or exclusion of all religion

In modern times, the fatwa, or decree, issued by Iranian religious leaders against writer Salman Rushdie over The Satanic Verses (1988), reflecting the clash between fundamentalism and secular intellectual Islam, threatened his life and required him to go into hiding. In France, the novelist Michel Houellebecq (b. 1958) was tried for inciting religious hatred by expressing negative views about Islam. The Taliban in Afghanistan banned television, music, and film in its campaign against modernity; violation of its edicts could result in death. In Bangladesh, Taslima Nasrin (b. 1962) has been the repeated target of censorship and death threats for her feminist views, which are seen as anti-Islamic. Religiously motivated efforts by some private groups seeking to impose censorship are prominent in the United States as well. This is evident in the protests of the early twenty-first century against the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi (1999), and The Holy Virgin Mary, a 1996 painting by Turner-award-winning artist Chris Ofili. Other attacks focus on sexual conduct that is inconsistent with religious beliefs. For example, Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer-prize-winning play Angels in America (1993) and Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi both deal with same-sex relationships.

C O N C LU S I O N

inalienable right: a right that cannot be taken away

petition: a written appeal for a desired action, or, to request an action, especially of government redress: to make right, or, compensation

Around the world and across time, people have recognized the dehumanizing effects of censorship. The Roman Cicero (106 B.C.E.–43 B.C.E.) likened the lack of freedom of expression to slavery. To the Dutch philosopher Benedictus de Spinoza (1632–1677), “everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts” (Spinoza 1670, Chapter XVIII, line 42). The risk censorship creates for learning and knowledge also is acknowledged by the English philosopher Milton (1608–1674): “hee who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe,” (Milton 1644) and by the Chinese proverb, “A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.” Legal protection against censorship was first adopted in 1791, in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which remains a model for much of the world. It reads: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” While some speech is not protected (e.g., threats and intimidation, incitement to imminent violence, libel, slander, defamation, and obscenity), the First Amendment is designed to ensure that government does not control the “market place of ideas.” Later, in 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights offered protection for “the right to freedom of thought [and] conscience” (Article 18). As history reveals, however, legal protections are necessary but not sufficient to counter censorship. In addition, people must understand, claim, and exercise the right to free expression. See also: Freedom of Expression; Freedom of Information; Freedom of the Press; Freedom of Religion and the State; Freedom of Religion, Foundations; Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bald, Margaret. Banned Books, Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds. New York: Facts on File, 1998. Green, Jonathon. The Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts on File, 1990. Heins, Marjorie. Sex, Sin, and Blasphemy: A Guide to America’s Censorship Wars. New York: The New Press, 1993.

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Hentoff, Nat. Living the Bill of Rights, How to Be an Authentic American. New York: Harper Collins, Publishers, 1998. Ingelhart, Louis Edward. Press and Speech Freedoms in America, 1619–1995: A Chronology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Jones, Derek, ed. Censorship, a World Encyclopedia, vols. 1–4. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001. Milton, John. Areopagitica (1644). Eugene: The University of Oregon, 1997. ⬍http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/areopagitica.html⬎. Murphy, Paul L. The Constitution in Crisis Times, 1918–1969. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1972. Spinoza, Benedictus de. A Theologico-Political Treatise (1670). ⬍http://www. philosophyarchive.com/text.php?era=1600–1699&author=Spinoza&text=A%20Th eologico-Political%20Treatise%20ChapterXVIII⬎.

Joan E. Bertin

Central African Republic The Central African Republic is located in the heart of Equatorial Africa. It is a land-locked country with an extensive plateau with several hills in the northeast and southwest regions. The country is about the size of Texas, with a surface area of 622,984 square kilometers (240,470 square miles). The majority of the country’s 3.7 million people live in the rural areas. The official language is French; other spoken languages include Songo, Arabic, and some Swahili. There is ethnic and religious diversity in the country with the Baya (34%), the Banda (27%), and the Mandja (21%) as the more dominant; religions include indigenous believers (35%), protestants (25%), Roman Catholics (25%), and Muslims (15%). The varied geographical, ethnic and religious structure of the country impacts the social, economic, and political framework. Ethnic groups from the southern parts of the country tend to be better educated and play dominating roles in government and the military. The Central African Republic gained its independence from France on August 13, 1960. Barthelemy Boganda (1910–1959), a Catholic priest who is often referred to as the “Father of the Nation,” headed a pre-independence governing assembly. When he died in a plane crash in March 1959, he was replaced by his cousin, David Dacko (1930–2003), who served as the country’s first president from 1960 to January 1966. Political leadership thereafter has been a litany of military coups, imperial rule, civilian misrule, army mutiny, and the seemingly progressive military government under General Francois Bozize (b. 1946), which was serving in the early twenty-first century. Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa (b. 1921) led the country’s first military coup in January 1966. Ten years later, he transformed the republic into the Central African Empire, with himself as Emperor Bokassa I. Bokassa ruled the country brutally and corruptly. Following a 1979 massacre of schoolchildren protesting against having to wear uniforms manufactured by the Bokassa family, the French engineered a coup against Bokassa and reinstalled David Dacko as president of a republic. Dacko did not last long in office. A bloodless coup led by General Andre Kolingba (b. 1935) swept him from office in 1981. Kolingba retained power until the democratic wave of the early 1990s that led to the election of Ange Patasse (b. 1937), a long-time civilian operative in several governments, as president in G O V E R N M E N T S

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coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion

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■ ■ ■ insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

October 1993. Patasse survived several army mutinies in his first six-year term, thanks to rescue packages by the French government to pay soldiers’ salaries. Reelected to a second term in 1999, Patasse faced a rebel insurgency and needed help from an African and United Nations peacekeeping force in March 2003. The continued mismanagement and economic crises facilitated a rebel victory by Commander Bozize over a demoralized military. The Bozize regime announced an ambitious agenda to fix the persistent malaise in the country, to restore peace and security, fight corruption, and suspend timber and mineral exploitation from the criminal networks during a one- to three year transition period. A sixty-three-member National Transitional Council serves as an advisory and law making organ. The council planned to draft an electoral code for the country and organize a national dialogue to bring a sense of harmony and decency to public life. The constitution was approved by public referendum in December 2004. Elections were held in early 2005, and Bozize garnered 64 percent of the vote. With Bozize officially elected to serve as president and the election of a parliament, the country’s period of transitional rule ended. See also: Presidential Systems; Republic. BIBLIOGRAPHY Banks, Arthur S., ed. Political Handbook of the World, 2000–2002. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2004. “Central African Republic.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ct.html⬎. Mars-Proietti, Laura. Nations of the World 2005: A Political, Economic and Business Handbook. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2005. Ramsay, F. Jeffress, ed. Global Studies: Africa. 10th ed. Guilford, CT: McGraw Hill/Dushkin, 2004.

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Chad Chad straddles the Sahara desert. It is a landlocked country of 1,284,000 square kilometers (495,625 square miles) with serious problems of water supply and soil quality. Chad is the fifth poorest country in the world, but a huge petroleum windfall could change its fortunes. Conflict and instability have also played a role in Chad’s condition. For much of the 1970s and 1980s its border with Libya was a source of interstate conflict, and there have been intermittent border troubles with Nigeria and a more recent refugee crisis with Sudan. Chad has also experienced decades of civil war between armed movements from the north and south. At independence in 1960, power was given to a Christian southerner, Nagarta Francois Tombalbaye (1918–1975), who ruled the country for several years despite an organized insurgency led by the National Liberation Front, a northern-based militia. The civil war aside, the country’s chronic poverty led to an ungovernable situation, and the army seized power in 1975 under general Felix Malloum (b. 1932), another southerner. A brief period of power sharing ensued between 1978 and 1979 when the government formed an alliance with Hissene Habre’s (b. 1942) Armed Forces of the North (FAN). The breakdown of the Malloum–Habre alliance produced a new civil war in which the northern forces prevailed. A government of national unity was put in place following northern seizure of the presidency in 1980 under Goukkouni

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■ ■ ■ imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

Oueddei (b. 1947). Given the close ties between the northern forces and Libya, a merger between Chad and Libya took place in 1981. The merger failed to instill stability in the country and fighting erupted between the National Unity Government (GUNT) and the FAN. To counter the Libyan imperialism, French and Zairean troops were deployed in the country. Hissene Habre eventually reestablished himself as president, and reconciliation between northern forces and the GUNT took place for much of the late 1980s. However, at a time when Habre seemed to be gaining international support as a statesman, his regime collapsed following a quick offensive led by a former army commander, Idriss Deby (b. 1952), in November 1990. Although rebel movements opposed to the government still exist, the period since Deby’s rise to power has been the most crisis-free period in the country’s forty-four-year history. Deby won competitive elections in 1996 and 2001, but severe irregularities and heavy-handed intimidation existed. The post1990 political system is presidential with all the powers controlled by Deby and his Movement for Patriotic Salvation. He appoints a prime minister who serves as head of the government coalition. The National Assembly of 155 seats constitutes the unicameral legislative branch. The governing Movement for Patriotic Salvation has a huge majority of 110 of the seats. Members of parliament are elected for a four-year term from single member constituencies and thirty-four multimember constituencies. The judiciary’s highest court was called on to decide controversial electoral disputes in elections in the early 2000s. Although there is nominal commitment to independence, politics clearly interferes with its procedures. One of the more positive results of Chad’s relative stability is that petroleum deposits can now be exploited from the Doba basin. Chad, which long qualified as the sick-man of Africa, could be on the threshold of a healthy political and economic future. See also: Libya; Presidential Systems. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Chad.” CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cd.html⬎. Mars, Laura. Nations of the World 2005: A Political, Economic and Business Handbook. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2005. Ramsay, F. Jeffress, ed. Global Studies: Africa, 10th ed. Guilford, CT: McGraw Hill/Dushkin, 2004.

H. Mbella Mokeba

Children’s Rights In 1924 the League of Nations adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It was not legally binding, but set forth principles that marked a shift in legal and cultural understandings of children. Children in many societies had, for centuries, been viewed as little more than their fathers’ property. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, long working hours under hazardous conditions were the lot of millions of children in industrializing nations. Problems of domestic physical, sexual, or psychological child abuse were absent from public discussion.

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Since the 1950s children’s rights have attracted greater attention. In 1959 a second Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted, this time by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Like the 1924 Declaration, it was not legally binding, but was more detailed in content, signaling further recognition of children as rights holders under international law. In 1989, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is a full-fledged treaty; once a state formally becomes a party to it, that state is

IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, CHILDREN CARRY SIGNS IN MAY 2002 APPEALING TO THE UNITED NATIONS FOR AN END TO CHILD LABOR AND PROSTITUTION. Although India passed

the Child Labour Act in 1986 barring children below the age of fourteen from working, many millions are still forced to do so under the guise of “domestic help.” (SOURCE © BALDEV/CORBIS)

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bound by its provisions. As of 2004 over 190 states had become parties to the Convention. A handful of others, notably the United States, have signed the Convention, thus endorsing its general aims, but have not taken the further step of becoming parties to it. That reluctance need not leave children in such countries without rights. The United States, for example, has any number of domestic laws and procedures protecting children (much of it at state and local levels), although many activists believe that further progress could be made. The countries with the best records of protecting children have done so largely through their own internal legal systems, without great reliance upon, or pressure from, international organizations. The 1924 and 1959 Declarations and the 1989 Convention nevertheless provide useful barometers of changing attitudes in many countries. Other international documents set forth children’s rights in more specific situations, such as armed conflict, juvenile detention, work, or education. Taken as a whole, such documents form a detailed corpus of rights. Once those rights have been recognized widely enough to become part of general, or customary, international law, they may be found to be binding even upon states that are not parties to the Convention. In the view of some experts, the high number of nation states endorsing children’s rights documents supports the view that rules protecting children’s core needs can now be considered part of customary international law.

■ ■ ■ corpus: a body, as in a body of work

Such developments are encouraging, yet millions of children on all continents continue to suffer brutality, slavery, poverty, malnutrition, disease, forced prostitution, genital mutilation, honor killings, poor education, and physical and emotional abuse. The 1989 Convention established a Committee on the Rights of the Child, charged with monitoring the progress made by parties to the Convention. The Committee has published candid criticisms of state violations. However, it can do little more. It has no judicial power. There is no court, police force, or prison to prevent or punish violations. Even in its limited function of issuing reports on state progress, the Committee can expect little cooperation from many offending nations. As with human rights law generally, offending states often adhere to norms on paper out of sheer political expediency, and not through any deep respect for human rights. Some states cite findings against them as grounds for insisting on greater development aid, arguing that violations can only be stopped when the overall level of wealth in society attains a satisfactory level. Children’s rights then become tools in a broader political struggle, rather than ends in themselves. Children’s rights gather together a variety of problems that, in other branches of human rights law, are sometimes treated separately. “Classic” human rights, rooted in an older Western liberal tradition, include rights such as free expression, freedom of religion, due process of law, equal protection, and freedom from torture or cruel or degrading treatment. Those civil rights and liberties are commonly distinguished from more recent concepts of social and economic rights, such as rights to minimum levels of food, shelter, clothing, health care or education. Even for adults, particularly those living in poverty, distinctions between those two sets of rights can seem unjustified. For children, any distinction between those two classes of rights becomes all the more questionable. Rights to economic development, or rights of equitable access to natural resources, have been proposed to address such problems, but raise political and economic controversies of their own. In order to meet such pressing concerns, international documents governing the rights of the child might have been cast as minimal statements, limited to the concerns of the neediest children. In fact, just the opposite has occurred.

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The 1989 Convention seeks to guarantee individual freedom, autonomy and personal development for all children. That ambition raises further problems. Article 13(1), for example, guarantees freedom of expression to every child, which is defined to “include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.” The Convention makes clear that such rights may not extend to children as fully as they extend to adults, and that the views of parents and guardians must also be taken into account. Nevertheless, there are many societies in which even adults enjoy little freedom of expression. In view of cross-cultural differences in attitudes toward children, it is difficult to guess how much freedom such a norm can guarantee. Beyond the specific provisions of the Convention, more general questions arise about the vision of the child that it assumes. For example, research has pointed to issues of sexual identity as particularly thorny ones for human rights. Sexual identity is widely seen as having vast implications for individual development. Violence, repression, or ostracism arising from a minority sexual identity can have devastating, sometimes homicidal or suicidal, consequences for children. Much of the scientific community believes that certain core foundations of sexual identity are either inborn or fixed at a young age. Those facts would suggest that minority sexual identities should be protected, yet many states and cultures continue to voice fierce opposition to all attempts to promote greater acceptance. Activists find themselves torn between risking the gains already made for children’s rights by losing credibility with offending states, and overlooking children who may need protection. Children’s rights are difficult to separate from women’s rights, as women continue to be primary caretakers. Where women’s rights are not respected, their children’s rights may also be at risk. In some instances, the entire ■ ■ ■ arena of family law comes into play. Domestic violence or collapse, including parental separation or divorce, involves the “Where women’s rights are not respected, rights of parents as well as of children, yet children’s best interests are notoriously difficult to promote in such circumstances. their children’s rights may also be at risk.” The twentieth century witnessed undeniable changes in attitudes toward children, including a willingness to treat them as individuals worthy of basic freedoms and opportunities. At the same time, war, poverty, social upheaval, mass migrations, and the problems of industrialization have continued to claim children as their victims. It is unlikely that children’s lives will show improvement until their broader social, political and economic problems can be addressed. See also: Women’s Rights. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ariès, Philippe. Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life, trans. Robert Baldick. New York: Vintage Books, 1962. Children’s Rights. ⬍http://www.childrensrights.org⬎. “Children’s Rights.” Human Rights Watch. ⬍http://hrw.org/children⬎. Detrick, Sharon, ed. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child—A Guide to the “Travaux Préparatoires.” Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers, 1992. Detrick, Sharon, ed. Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Hague, The Netherlands: Kluwer, 1999.

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Fottrell, Deirdre, ed. Revisiting Children’s Rights: 10 Years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. London: Brill, 2000. Heinze, Eric, ed. Of Innocence and Autonomy: Children, Sex, and Human Rights. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2000. James, Alison, et al. Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood. London: Routledge, 1997. James, Alison, et al. Theorizing Childhood. London: Polity, 1998. Save the Children. ⬍http://www.savethechildren.org⬎. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. ⬍http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/ instree/auok.htm⬎. Van Bueren, Geraldine. The International Law of the Rights of the Child. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer, 1995.

Eric Heinze

Chile Chile is located on the western side of the Andes mountain range in the southern cone of the Americas. Its territory covers an area of 756,626 square kilometers (291,893 square miles), about twice the size of California, extending over a narrow and elongated strip between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. With 4,200 kilometers (2,653 miles) from its northern border with Peru all the way down to Cape Horn facing the Drake Passage and Antarctica, Chile’s territory is about 320 kilometers (200 miles) longer than the distance between New York and Los Angeles. The Andes mountain range is its natural boundary to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atacama Desert—among the world’s driest—to the north, and the islands, fjords, glaciers, and archipelagos that connect it to Cape Horn constitute its southern natural border. Argentina and Bolivia are the bordering countries to the east. To the north, the border with Peru stretches for a mere 158 kilometers (99 miles). Chile’s unusual shape is marked by the contrast of its length with its average width, just 177 kilometers (110 miles). The country’s population, according to the 2002 census, was 15,116,435, of which 87 percent lived in urban centers. The population is highly concentrated in the central area: The Santiago metropolitan region and the neighboring region of Valparaiso both contain nearly half the country’s total population. E A R LY P O L I T I C A L S TA B I L I T Y A N D D E M O C R A C Y

■ ■ ■ republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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Chile’s modern existence started in 1810 when local elites declared their independence from Spain. Independence was not fully attained, however, until military forces from Chile and Argentina, led by Bernardo O’Higgins (1778–1842) and José de San Martín, (1778–1850) respectively, defeated, in 1818, the Spanish forces sent to crush the rebel new republic. Following a comparatively short period of internecine struggle, Chileans managed to settle their disputes and to pass a constitution in 1833 inspired by some of the basic features of the U.S. Constitution. This gave rise to a long period of political stability, for which Chile stood out among other Latin American countries. Along with stability, Chile also was unique within the Latin American region for the early development and endurance of its democratic regime, which the country enjoyed for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Democratic breakdowns, in 1891 and 1924, were relatively short-lived. However, a coup d’etat in 1973 gave rise to a military authoritarian regime that lasted until 1990. This resulted in a mixed reputation for Chile toward the end of the twentieth century, as a country that experienced one of the harshest military dictatorships in the region but was able to resume democratic rule along with vigorous economic growth in the 1990s.

authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals factionalism: a separation of people into

Ata

competing, adversarial, and self-serving The rudiments of democracy had begun developing with the early onset of groups, usually in government constitutional rule in the nineteenth century. Elected administrations of five-year terms that, through reelection, ruled for a decade each gradually helped to establish political institutions allowing for regular elections, smooth government turnover, and N CHILE political debate. Chilean political elites helped to assert the roles E W 400 Miles 200 0 of the executive and Congress by becoming adept in the art of compromise and political give-and-take. The strengthening of S 0 200 400 Kilometers the central bureaucracy toward the 1870s led to fears that the executive was becoming too powerful. In reaction, conservatives B O L I V I A and landed elites sought to empower themselves by promoting electoral reforms in the 1870s that strengthened the role of rural Arica constituencies under their control. The assertion of democratic PA RA Iquique features gained momentum with this expansion of the elecG UA PACIFIC Y torate, which nonetheless remained widely restricted until the Calama OCEAN vote was granted to women in 1949, and illiterates and Chileans over eighteen years of age in 1970. Antofagasta Desert

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The new constitution adopted in 1925 established the separation of church and state and reinvigorated the presidential nature of the political system. Once democracy fully resumed in 1932, a new party system came to life. Liberals and conservatives now only filled the right wing. New vigorous parties emerged on the Left— the Socialist Party and the Communist Party—while the Radical Party took control of the Center. Analysts described the new arrangement as a multiparty polarized system because of the number of parties and the ideological distance between the Left and Right poles. Nonetheless, the system was able to function in a stable manner, as it gave expression to diverse groups and classes while providing, because of the bridging role of the Center, a flexible arrangement of alliances. The center Radical Party ably built such alliances to win the presidency—sometimes with the Left, G O V E R N M E N T S

Copiapó

Isla San Ambrosio

The victorious conclusion of the War of the Pacific (1879–1883) against Peru and Bolivia added considerable mineral-rich territory to the north. This greatly expanded revenue for public coffers. The political system began to acquire features of a parliamentary regime as Congress, in fact, determined cabinet formation in a complex system of coalition-making. Underneath rivalries and factionalism among oligarchic elites, society was experiencing important changes expressed in the expansion of urban middle sectors and the development of a working class. A military coup of 1924 was in large measure a response to increased class tensions. From then on, class cleavage superseded previous doctrinal and religious divisions between liberals and conservatives.

pó

POLITICS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

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other times with the Right. In 1938 it created the Popular Front with communists and socialists to capture the presidency with Pedro Aguirre Cerda (1879–1941). The same alliance elected Gabriel González Videla (1898–1980) to the presidency in 1946, but a year later turned against its communist allies, stripping them of their political rights and sending their leaders off to prison camps. This was proof that the system was not free of tensions. Despite the pervasive influence of political parties over candidates, elections, and the political process in general, influential individuals occasionally managed to gain access without the parties and sometimes even against them. In 1952 a former president and military officer of the tumultuous 1920s, General Carlos Ibáñez (1877–1960), ascended to the presidency. In 1958 Jorge Alessandri (1896–1986), an independent candidate, won the presidency, albeit with the strong support of a rightist alliance of conservatives, liberals, and radicals. Alessandri was the son of former president Arturo Alessandri (1868–1950), who had held power between 1920 and 1924 and again from 1932 until 1938, highlighting the role of important families in twentieth-century Chilean politics. In 1964 Eduardo Frei Montalva (1911–1982) succeeded Jorge Alessandri in the presidency. Frei’s son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (b. 1942), would later become president in 1994, after running against one of Alessandri’s nephews.

P O L I T I C A L P O L A R I Z AT I O N

■ ■ ■ absolute: complete, pure, free from restriction or limitation

plurality: more votes than any other candidate, but less than half of the total number of votes

marginalize: to move to the outer borders, or to move one to a lower position

constituency: the people who either elect or are represented by an elected official

nationalization: the process of giving control or ownership of an entity to the government

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Seldom were presidents elected with an absolute majority. The constitution ordered that Congress would elect the president from among the two candidates who received the most votes when no one obtained an absolute majority. In a system with three major political currents—Left, Center, and Right—it was normal that bare pluralities sufficed to obtain the presidency. This was also often the source of paralysis and stalemate as presidents rarely managed to win or retain a workable majority in Congress. However, in 1964 Eduardo Frei’s Christian Democratic Party, which had grown out of an earlier split in the Conservative Party, won an absolute majority and control of Congress. Frei backed land reform and the inclusion of previously marginalized groups in urban slums and the countryside. Governing solely with the support of the Christian Democratic Party, the Frei administration widened political polarization, alienating the Right because of its reformist policies and the Left because of the challenges it presented to its constituency. A leftist alliance—Popular Unity led by Salvador Allende Gossens (1908–1973)—succeeded Frei in 1970 in a vigorously contested and ideologically polarized election. Allende, who had been president of the Senate and a minister in the Aguirre Cerda administration of 1938, was a member of the Marxist-inspired Socialist Party. The U.S. administration, which had aided Allende’s opponents in the past, intervened even more actively this time. A group supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conspired to kidnap the head of the army, General René Schneider (1913–1970), in a maneuver designed to prevent Allende’s election by Congress. The plot failed when Schneider was killed instead, in the first political assassination in Chile since the 1830s. Allende’s government nationalized the large copper mines that were the main source of sustenance for the economy, deepened land reform, nationalized large industrial firms, and promoted redistributive policies. Its stated goal was a transition to socialism within democratic parameters. Internal divisions, failure to maintain economic growth, and stiff resistance from domestic opposition, as well as from the administration of President Richard M. Nixon (1913–1994) in the United States, led to paralysis, stalemate, and ultimately military rebellion. On September 11, 1973, G O V E R N M E N T S

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the armed forces rose against the government and staged a coup d’etat, led by General Augusto Pinochet (b. 1915), that resulted in Allende’s death. B R E A K D O W N O F D E M O C R A C Y A N D M I L I TA R Y R U L E

The military takeover was notable for the harshly repressive nature of the regime, the profound transformations that it set in motion, and its long duration (1973–1990). The regime arrested and tortured thousands of Chileans, several thousands of whom disappeared and remain unaccounted for. Thousands also were sent off to exile abroad or to remote localities within the country. Secret agents of the regime assassinated high-profile individuals it feared, such as General Carlos Prats, Pinochet’s predecessor at the helm of the army, who was murdered in Buenos Aires in 1974; Orlando Letelier, one of Allende’s former ministers, killed in 1976 in Washington, D.C.; and former Vice President Bernardo Leighton, severely wounded in Rome in 1975. During most of the regime’s tenure, the press was tightly controlled, parties as well as organizations perceived as threatening were banned, and martial law or a state

JUBILANT PROTESTORS GATHER IN SANTIAGO, CHILE, UPON THE NEWS OF GENERAL AUGUSTO PINOCHET’S ARREST IN ENGLAND ON OCTOBER 19, 1998. As commander of Chile’s army in 1973, Pinochet took power after a military coup. During his violent dictatorship

thousands of political opponents were killed, imprisoned and tortured, or found missing. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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■ ■ ■

W A R O F T H E PA C I F I C ( 1 8 7 9 – 1 8 8 3 ) For years Chile and Bolivia were locked in a dispute for control of the Atacama Desert, a Pacific Coast region containing valuable mineral resources. Tensions grew until 1879 when the two countries went to war to settle the matter. Peru joined Bolivia’s side and the Chilean military found its divisions outnumbered, two to one. In the end Chile was victorious, though the war raged for four years and severely strained its economic and military resources. In 1883 Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón in which Peru agreed to give the mineral-rich Tarapacá

■ ■ ■ decentralize: to move power from a central authority to multiple periphery government branches or agencies per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative junta: a group of individuals holding power, especially after seizing control as a result of a coup

province to Chile. Chile was also granted the right to occupy the provinces of Tacna and Arica for the next decade. Later, the countries agreed that Chile could keep Arica, and Peru could take back Tacna. Bolivia came out of the war with a bleak economic future because the truce between it and Chile gave Chile control of the entire Bolivian coast. Landlocked and with no outlet to the sea, Bolivia suffered economic stagnation that continued into the twenty-first century.

of siege and curfews remained in effect. This kind of regime had been unknown to Chileans and therefore left deep marks in politics and society. The military regime promoted dramatic transformations in the economy, becoming the first government in Latin America to initiate full-fledged market-oriented reforms. A favorable economic climate attracted substantial foreign investment in the areas of mining, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and agro-business. Major reforms were enacted in the Social Security system, which became privatized, and the provision of social services, in general, was decentralized. Chile attained relative per capita growth during the period of military rule. However, the downside of these policies was a large increase in poverty and levels of inequality. During the Pinochet regime, the commanders of the four armed services (the army, navy, air force, and Carabineros—a militarized police) acted as the legislature while General Pinochet retained the presidency as well as command of the army. The regime sought institutionalization by passing a new constitution in 1980 that significantly enhanced the powers of the president and contained formulas for a restricted democracy (or soft authoritarianism) for the future, one in which a National Security Council dominated by the military would have monitoring powers over the political system. Transitory clauses would remain in force until the full constitution became operative later the same decade. One of those clauses contemplated a referendum to be held in 1988 in which voters would approve or reject a candidate for the presidency proposed by the government junta, who would then rule for eight years with the possibility of reelection. By the date of the referendum, opposition to the military regime had grown considerably and managed to defeat the junta’s candidate, General Pinochet. Over 55 percent of the voters marked “no” on their ballot, denying Pinochet the opportunity to stay in power. As a result, competitive elections had to be held in 1989 following partial reforms of the constitution to make the transition possible. THE RESUMPTION OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy resumed in 1990 with the election of Patricio Aylwin Azócar (b. 1918) to the presidency. Aylwin, a leader of the Christian Democratic Party, led a coalition, the Alliance of Parties for Democracy, that included the Socialist Party, the Radical Party, and the Party for Democracy, in addition to his own party, all of which had led the opposition to the military regime. The Communist Party had lost much of its previous electoral appeal and did not

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form part of the coalition. Aylwin ran against Hernán Bucchi, representing a coalition formed by the National Renovation Party and the Independent Democratic Union, which stood for the legacy of the Pinochet regime. These two coalitions have monopolized electoral contests since the resumption of democracy, and they reflect basic continuity with political sentiments that existed prior to the military regime. The competing alliances, in fact, operate as if a two-party system existed. This was the result, in part, of the basic cleavage that had developed during the Pinochet regime: authoritarianism versus democracy. It also resulted from the constraints imposed by the electoral system devised by the military regime: twomember districts with a formula for seat allocation that provides strong incentive for the formation of two coalitions. President Aylwin was succeeded in 1994 by Eduardo Frei, the son of former President Frei. Frei, also a Christian Democrat, led the same Center-Left coalition as Aylwin. The Alliance of Parties for Democracy won the presidency again in 2000 with Ricardo Lagos (b. 1938), a socialist. This time a second run-off election was needed, as required by the 1980 constitution, since no candidate obtained an absolute majority. The three democratic governments since 1990 have not been able to overcome all obstacles to reforming the constitution inherited from Pinochet. The president continues to be denied the power to dismiss top military chiefs, and the latter continue to have important appointment powers by virtue of their FIGURE 1 Structure of the Government of Chile

Executive

Supreme Court of Justice

Chamber of Deputies: 120 members 4 years tenure

President appoints members of Supreme Court, one member of Constitutional Court and two senators

21 members appointed by the President out of list of 5 submitted by this Court

Senate: 38 elected; 8 appointed plus former presidents 8 years tenure appoints one member of Constitutional Court

Sets legislative agenda during Extraordinary Legislative Period

Appoints 3 members of Constitutional Court

Legislative

Constitutional Court

Both Chambers may initiate legislation during annual ordinary period

7 members 8 years Rules on Constitutionality of laws

Courts of Appeal: 17 regional courts

National Security Council Advises President and appoints 4 senators and 2 members of Constitutional Court

Intendants 13, one per region Appointed by President

Governors (Provinces) Appointed by President

Mayors Elected directly in each municipal district

SOURCE:

Courtesy of author.

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membership in the National Security Council. The Congress’s powers are still much weaker than what they were during the preauthoritarian period, and the electoral system conceived by authoritarian officials to boost the chances of their supporters on the Right in successor legislatures remains unchanged. Despite these constraints, the democratic administrations have advanced major reforms in crucial areas. Reforms in the judiciary, for instance, have modernized and rejuvenated the courts and begun the implementation of changes in the criminal justice system aimed at moving to an accusatorial system in which oral, public, and adversarial proceedings are refereed by the judge, and away from the old inquisitorial system in which the judge and the prosecutor are one. Civil liberties have been advanced and old clauses that allowed for censorship in the media have been dropped. Comparatively, the government in Chile boasts low levels of corruption. According to the 2000 Corruption Perception Index developed by Transparency International, Chile ranked 18th, least corrupt, in a list of ninety countries, with a score of 7.4 (where 10 stands for corruption-free), very close to the United States with a rank of 14 (7.8). New policies aim to hold officials of the prior military regime accountable for crimes against humanity committed when they held power. The head of Pinochet’s secret police, for example, was sentenced to prison in 1995, as have been many other former officials. These policies created a climate that allowed Chile’s courts to strip Pinochet of any immunity he might claim, so he could be tried, after his extradition from London (where he had been held under arrest during 1998 and 1999. Thus, progressing from the mere denunciation of crimes in the Truth Commission report presented to President Aylwin in 1990, there had been actual movement toward accountability for human rights violations by the start of the twenty-first century. An important achievement of the 1990s was attained in the fight against poverty. High levels of economic growth attained during that decade led to a doubling of per capita income, from U.S.$2,190 in 1990 to $4,600 in 2001. By devoting significant amounts of public spending to investments in social areas and maintaining high levels of economic growth, democratic governments were able to decrease poverty rates from 40 percent in 1987 to 17 percent in 1998, and indigence rates from 13 percent in 1987 to 4 percent in 1998. Still, government officials remained concerned with efforts to reduce high levels of social and economic inequality, and to reform the constitution, ridding it of the legacies of authoritarianism. See also: International Human Rights Law. BIBLIOGRAPHY Collier, Simon, and William F. Sater. A History of Chile, 1808–1994. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Constable, Pamela, and Arturo Valenzuela. A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet. New York: W.W. Norton, 1991. Drake, Paul W., and Ivan Jáksic, eds. The Struggle for Democracy in Chile, 1982–1990. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. Edwards, Sebastian, and Alejandra Cox Edwards. Monetarism and Liberalization: The Chilean Experiment. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1987. Garreton, Manuel Antonio, Gregory Horvath, and R. Kelly Washbourne. Incomplete Democracy: Political Democratization in Chile and Latin America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Kornbluh, Peter. The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability. New York: The New Press, 2003.

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Library of Congress Country Studies. Chile—A Country Study. ⬍http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ frd/cs/cltoc.html⬎. Martínez, Javier, and Alvaro Díaz. Chile: The Great Transformation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1996. Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation. South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993. Transparency International. 2002 Corruption Perception Index. New York: Transparency Internation, 2003. ⬍http://www.transparency.org⬎. Valenzuela, Arturo. The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Chile. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978. Valenzuela, Arturo. “Chile: Origins and Consolidation of a Latin American Democracy.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America, ed. Larry Diamond, Jonathan Hartlyn, Juan Linz, et al. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999. Verdugo, Patricia. Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death. Miami, FL: The University of Miami, North-South Center Press, 2001. World Bank. 2002 World Development Indicators Database. ⬍http://www.worldbank. org/data/countrydata/countrydata.html⬎.

Felipe Agüero

China (PRC) China, or the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is a country located in East Asia, bordering countries such as Russia, North Korea, Vietnam, India and Afghanistan. China is the world’s largest country by population (1.28 billion) and the third largest by area, at 9.59 million square kilometers (3.7 million square miles). Geographically, China is placed in the agricultural region irrigated by three great rivers: Pearl River in the south, Yangtze River in the central, and Yellow River in the north. Varying terrains in this country include not only fertile plains, farmlands, and valleys but also high mountains, vast plateaus, and wide deserts that are much less populated and cultivated. There are many ethnic groups living in China, which recognizes fifty-five national minorities, including Miao, Mongols, Zhuang, Uighurs, Tibetans, Yi, and many other smaller ethnic groups. Although more than 90 percent of the population is ethnic Han Chinese, there are regional linguistic differences among the ethnic Han. The common language, called Putonghua (Mandarin), is taught in schools and used by official organizations and mass media, yet local dialects in different provinces and counties are often mutually incomprehensible. The existence of a unified linguistic system in China is due to the logographic writing system. This system uses characters that represent words instead of pronunciation, making it possible for all local dialects to be written in the same way. This writing system created more than two thousand years ago greatly helps communication throughout China.

■ ■ ■ logographic writing system: a system of written language in which each word is represented not by a series of letters, but by a picture

BRIEF HISTORY

Historically, China was the leading civilization in East Asia. Its many neighbors—namely, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Mongolia, and Vietnam—were strongly influenced by China. To various extents these civilizations adopted the Chinese written language, technology, food, philosophy, religion, art, culture, government, and law. From the seventh through the fourteenth century, G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

warlord: a leader, usually over a small region, who governs by military force communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

China qualified as one of the world’s most advanced civilizations and military superpowers. However, after centuries of political feudalism and economic stagnation, China failed to catch the trend of industrialization that signified the success of Western countries in the modern times. After continuous internal revolts and foreign encroachment, China’s last dynasty, Qing (1644–1911), was drastically weakened in the nineteenth century and finally overthrown by Chinese nationalists in 1911. But the establishment of the nationalist government did not lead China toward peace and prosperity. The nationalist government was a one-party dictatorship that never gained full control of China. In fact, the nationalist government only controlled small parts of urban China. Over the course of several decades, the country was torn apart by Japanese invasion, local warlords, and a civil war between the communists and the nationalists. In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which had garnered strong popular support in rural China, won the civil war and established the PRC regime in Beijing, also the capital of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. The Chinese nationalists fled to the island province of Taiwan and reestablished the nationalist government, the Republic of China. In the early twenty-first century most countries recognize the PRC on the mainland as the official government of China. MAJOR POLITICAL LEADERS

The communist rule in China began under the leadership of Mao Tse-tung (1893–1976), an experienced revolutionary and the Chairman of the CCP. Mao and his followers ruled China until the late 1970s. After that, the reformist Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) became the top leader of the country and later an

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influential behind-the-scenes person (from 1978 until his death in 1997), even though he never held any top official position in either the CCP or the government. After 1997, Jiang Zemin (b. 1926), the former mayor of Shanghai, the largest city of China, and a long-time follower of Deng became the “thirdgeneration” communist leader until his retirement in 2003. On March 15, 2003, Hu Jintao (b. 1942) became the president of the country. He also served as the general secretary of the CCP and the chairman of the Central Military Committee.

SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS

From 1949 to 1952, the new government led by the CCP established tight control over China and promoted the recovery of the country’s economy that had been shattered by successive foreign invasions and civil wars. However, radical campaigns in the late 1950s and 1960s, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, led to disastrous results and the death of millions. Beginning in the late 1970s, under Deng’s leadership, the government launched economic reforms that reversed some of the earlier central planning policies. Without fundamentally changing the existing political structure, the reforms have gradually loosened the government’s control of the economy, allowing some aspects of a market economy and encouraging foreign investment. This socialist market economy, as it is called, emphasizes the liberalization of foreign investment and international trade while strictly regulating currency exchange, the financial sector, and the running of state-owned enterprises. Although China remains a poor country by world standards, the economy has grown dramatically as a result of the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. China’s economy grew at an average annual rate of around 9 percent between 1994 and 2004 to become the world’s second largest economy (based on purchasing power). The quality of life in China has gradually improved because of the growing economy. In 1949 China’s average life expectancy was forty-five years; by 2002 the average had risen to seventy-two years. Despite its rapidly increasing population, in 1999 China had one physician for every 717 inhabitants whereas there was only one physician for every 27,000 in 1949. Clinics usually are found at the village and district levels and hospitals and medical centers at the city and county levels. The reforms have also caused problems for China’s economic planners. Income gaps have widened, unemployment has increased, and inflation has gone up as the result of the extremely rapid and unbalanced development. These byproducts have become significant problems that could potentially lead to social discontent, instability, and even threat to the rule of the CCP. Another serious problem is the rampant official corruption in China, which aggravates the problems of income disparity, high inflation, and unemployment. Government approvals are still required for many things from changes in residence to building factories or establishing joint ventures. Therefore, government officials responsible for granting those approvals wield a great deal of power. Many bureaucrats abuse their power and expect favors in return. Capital flight has also become a serious problem as many corrupted officials send their money abroad. So far, the government’s efforts to solve these problems have been largely ineffective.

■ ■ ■ market economy: an economy with little government ownership and relatively free markets liberalization: the process of lowering trade barriers and tariffs and reducing government economic regulations

THE CONSTITUTION

The first constitution of the PRC took effect in 1954. It designed the structure of the government and citizens’ rights and duties. In 1957, 1978, and 1982, the Chinese government adopted three new constitutions. Each constitution G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived rule of law: the principle that the law is a final grounds of decision-making and applies equally to all people; law and order ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority

proletariat: the lower class of workers and laborers in a society

federalism: a system of political organization, in which separate states or groups are ruled by a dominant central authority on some matters, but are otherwise permitted to govern themselves independently

mirrored the ideological concerns and policy priorities of the time, although there was fundamentally no change in the government structure. The most recent constitution, which was adopted in 1982, echoes the form of the first, reflecting an ideological return to the concept of rule of law. The fourth constitution of the PRC adopted in 1982 formally vests all national legislative power in the NPC. The State Council and its Standing Committee, by contrast, are made responsible for executing rather than ratifying the laws. This division of power is specified for each of the territorial divisions—provinces, counties, and so forth—with the condition that at each level the latitude available to the authority is limited to that specified by law. The Chinese constitution nominally centralizes power in the National People’s Congress (NPC), the highest representative body in China, giving it power to assign and oversee the top officials of both the executive and the judicial branches. However, based on the Leninist-Marxist tradition, the constitution makes it clear that China is a dictatorship of the proletariat, led by the CCP in a united front with other parties. Thus, the Chinese constitution simultaneously reflects the importance of democracy ruled by people’s will and the supremacy of the Communist Party, which is essentially nondemocratic. The current constitution of the Chinese Communist Party was approved in 1997 at the Fifteenth National Party Congress. The function and organization of the CCP are stipulated in the party’s constitution. The National Party Congress is the highest organ of the CCP, although it only meets once every few years. When the party congress is not in session, which is most of the time, the Central Committee, a smaller organ that is elected by the National Party Congress, serves as the party’s highest body. This Central Committee elects two working groups: the Politburo and the Standing Committee of the Politburo. The Standing Committee of the Politburo consists of the most influential party members. The Central Committee elects the party general secretary. The outcomes of these elections are determined by negotiations, not voting, among party leaders, especially the members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo. Despite its large size, the PRC is a unitary state instead of a federal system. To maintain its control, the regime has established parallel party positions alongside administrative posts extending from Beijing down to local levels. The state apparatus is controlled by ministries, agencies, and commissions under the State Council on the government side and Central Committee departments on the CCP side. This complex structure is intended to coordinate national policy on a territorial basis and allow the CCP to direct the government at all levels, from national to local. The primary feature of this parallel system is that the CCP dominates policy making and policy execution through its members in the government. The CCP has restricted political activities that promote views contrary to the party’s objectives, in effect allowing no significant opposition to emerge. This parallel system is not isolated from the society. Instead, the ruling body is assisted by various mass organizations, such as the Communist Youth League, women’s associations, the national trade union, writers’ and other professional associations, that include much of the population. Overall, the one-party political system virtually controls the entire population in China. POLITICAL LIFE

All citizens of China over eighteen years old who have not been deprived of their political rights are permitted to vote. The direct popular suffrage is used to elect People’s Congress members only up to the county level. Above the

suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

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counties, delegates at each level elect those who will serve at the People’s Congress of the next higher level. Were this constitution an accurate reflection of the real workings of the system, the People’s Congresses and their various committees would have been the critical organs in the Chinese political system. However, in reality, they are not. The actual decision-making authority in China rests in the state’s executive organs and in their parallel party organizations. The top government executive organ at the national level is the State Council headed by the premier who exercises major everyday decision-making authority and whose decisions have the force of law. The NPC convenes annually and only ratifies the decisions already made by the State Council. The central leadership of the CCP is parallel to the State Council. Again, the CCP in China is the actual ruling body. Because the CCP has so much control, the general secretary of the CCP usually has the greatest real power over the government. The premier is usually the second most powerful person. Often, although not always, the CCP’s general secretary is also the president of the country.

THE PALATIAL COMPLEX FORBIDDEN CITY IN BEIJING, CHINA. The Forbidden City (now known as the Palace Museum) took fourteen years and about one million workers to build during the Ming dynasty. Fourteen Ming and ten Qing emperors resided and conducted business in the world’s largest palatial complex until the last of the imperial royalty was expelled in 1924. (SOURCE: © FREE AGENTS LIMITED/CORBIS)

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DIVISION OF POWERS

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A MODERN TIBET Tibet is no longer a povertystricken “paradise lost” tilled by rough-hewn farmers and their yaks. Although Chinese occupation forces and the exiled Tibetan government in India still vie for its control, somewhat modern education systems in Tibet and India have fostered the growth of a sizable bilingual population that is skeptical of both Chinese and religious control. Free-thinking young Tibetans and Chinese dissidents in Tibet, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other overseas locations follow domestic political dramas with interest, and they may well exert influence on their homelands’ futures.

The members of the NPC are elected for five-year terms in indirect elections by the provincial congresses. Typically, the provincial congresses choose those delegates recommended by the CCP. The size of the NPC has ranged from 3,000 to 3,500 members. Its size is too large and its annual sessions too short for the NPC to carry out meaningful debates over the legislation, the government reports, or the official appointments and removals. The limited function of the NPC directly benefits the CCP’s oneparty system. The president is the head of state in China. The president is elected to a five-year term by the NPC. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office. The executive power rests within the State Council headed by the premier. The premier is nominated by the president and elected by the NPC to a five-year term. The State Council consists of roughly forty heads of ministries and national-level commissions that are nominated by the premier and elected and ratified by the NPC to five-year terms. Given the nature of parallel system, the NPC elects candidates based on the requests of the CCP. There are four components in the Chinese legal system: a court system, a public security administration, an office of the public prosecutor, and a system of prisons and labor camps. The Supreme People’s Court is the highest court. It supervises the various lower levels of people’s courts to administer justice. The Standing Committee of the NPC, instead of the Supreme People’s Court, has the power of constitutional supervision. Lower levels of courts, public security offices, and public prosecutors offices exist at provincial, county, and municipal levels. Judges are primarily chosen by the CCP personnel departments and are supervised by the party and the Ministry of Justice.

CITIZEN RIGHTS

■ ■ ■ authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

The poor condition of human rights in China has often been criticized by the international community. According to the Freedom of the World Report 2004, China scored a 7, or “least free” in the category of political rights and a 6, one step away from “least free” in the category of civil liberties. The overall rating of the country falls into the category of “not free.” China has long been defined as an authoritarian regime because of its Leninist one-party political system. The CCP fully controls national political activities as party members hold the most important government offices. Under the united front policy, the CCP allows several minor political parties to operate in China although there is no way they can compete with CCP. Similar to the mass organizations, these parties recruit their members mainly from educational, scientific, and cultural circles. No truly independent political parties exist legally. Members of people’s congresses are directly elected in tightly controlled elections with limited competition at the two lowest levels of government: the township and county levels. To avoid possible challenges to its one-party rule, the CCP and its subordinate agencies closely monitor the flow of information, including the Internet and various media outlets. People are not allowed to demonstrate without the government’s consent. The CCP also does not allow the forming of independent labor unions and other kinds of independent social organizations that might be considered threatening to the party’s rule. In China, it is still difficult to participate in politics without being a member of CCP or supported by CCP.

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However, the situation has improved since the advent of the reform era in the 1980s. In particular, greater economic freedom has attracted a tremendous amount of foreign investment, sustained a booming economy, and significantly raised most people’s living standards in absolute terms. China has become an active participant in numerous international organizations. As the country becomes increasingly integrated into the international community, the Chinese regime has felt the pressure to improve its human rights records. The reform process has unleashed social forces that the regime might not be able to control in the long run. If China can continue to enjoy a stable international and domestic environment, there will be reasons for cautious optimism that China’s political system will eventually become more open. See also: Dictatorship; Hong Kong and Macau; Taiwan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY China Internet Information Center. China in Brief: 2004. ⬍http://www.china. org.cn/english/features/China2004/106263.htm⬎. Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, December 4, 1982. ⬍http://english. people.com.cn/constitution/constitution.html⬎. Freedom House. “China.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/china.htm>. International Monetary Fund. World Economic Outlook. Washington DC: International Monetary Fund, 2003. Shirk, Susan. How China Opened Its Door: PRC’s Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution, 1994. World Bank. “China Data Profile.” World Development Indicators Database, August 2004. ⬍http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?SelectedCountry=CHN & CCODE=CHN & CNAME=China & PTYPE=CP⬎.

Cheng Chen

Citizenship Citizenship is among the most important concepts in the contemporary world. On the macro level, citizenship is used as a category to allocate the more than 5 billion people on this planet among the various nation-states. On the micro level, citizenship is utilized to describe the attributes of membership in one of those states, and, as a consequence, citizenship frequently becomes an integral part of an individual’s personal identity. In short, any discussion of citizenship necessarily entails a discussion of fundamental political relationships.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

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Two different elements are involved in the modern concept of citizenship: One is primarily a legal notion, and the other stems from political theory. As one would expect of an idea that has survived transitions from the ancient world of the Greek city-states to the medieval municipalities to the contemporary territorial nation-state, each element in the concept of citizenship contains an extensive network of subordinate components. G O V E R N M E N T S

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city-state: a system of government common in ancient Greece, marked by a city with authority over surrounding territory municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

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■ ■ ■ FAST FACTS A person may be a citizen of more than one country.

■ ■ ■ monarchical: of or relating to a monarchy

natural right: a basic privilege intrinsic to all people that cannot be denied by the government

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In the legal view, the central distinction is between a “citizen” and an “alien.” This concept of citizenship stresses the presumed connection between an individual’s allegiance to a particular nation and the obligation of that nation’s government to protect its citizens. In the political view, the allegiance-protection relationship is only a minimum condition of citizenship. Beginning with Aristotle (384 B.C.E.–322 B.C.E.), political theorists have made a sharp distinction between “citizen” and “subject.” Citizens are seen as active participants in the political community; subjects—a category that at various times has included such groups as slaves, serfs, aliens, children, and women—are essentially passive objects of the political community. The legal element is derived from Roman law. In the ancient Roman Empire, citizenship was originally based not on place or geography, but on the status of the individual within the empire. Thus the New Testament of the Bible records a famous incident in which the Apostle Paul, a Jew from Palestine traveling in what is now Syria, is able to avoid severe prosecution by demonstrating his Roman citizenship (Acts 21: 39; 22: 27–28). In the Middle Ages, a geographic dimension of citizenship began to emerge in the towns and cities of Western Europe. Those adult men who enjoyed economic advantages and had the exclusive responsibility for the political management of the community were identified as its citizens. Yet the individual or personal dimension was not obliterated. During that same period, the relationship between vassals and feudal lords was discussed in terms of the allegiance a vassal owed his feudal lord for the protection the latter provided. As the nation-state began to emerge out of the medieval world, the duties of feudal allegiance were merged with the duties an individual owed to the government of that territory. For example, in its fight to maintain its political independence, the England of Elizabeth I (1533–1603) introduced the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy in 1559, whereby all Englishmen swore their allegiance to the ruler of the realm. Thus the modern legal concept of citizenship, as inherited by the territorial nation-state, represents a combination of these ancient and medieval notions. All citizens of the realm are expected to be loyal to the nation’s government, and they are subject to the laws of the land. The political element also underwent several transformations. In ancient Greece, citizenship was reserved for those men entitled to participate in the governance of their city-state. That notion was carried over to the Roman Republic and, at least symbolically, into the Roman Empire. But after the fall of that empire, the linkage between the ideas of citizenship and participation in governance disappeared for many centuries. The subsequent development of monarchical nationstates saw the continued submergence of the participatory aspect of citizenship. Individuals were discussed and treated as subjects of the Crown. When the American and French revolutions ushered in the modern world in the late eighteenth century, the participatory political element reemerged. Both revolutions asserted the natural rights of humans and the human right of self-government. The American experience illustrates well the transformation of the political concept of citizenship in the modern world. In the English tradition, subjects owed allegiance to the Crown and were reciprocally entitled to the Crown’s protection. Early American thinkers transformed subjects into citizens. “‘Subject’ and ‘citizen’ are, in a degree, convertible terms as applied to natives,” wrote the famous legal authority Chancellor James Kent (1763–1847) in his Commentaries on American Law (1836), “and though the term ‘citizen’ seems appropriate to republican freemen, yet we are, equally with the inhabitants of all other countries, ‘subjects,’ for we are equally bound by allegiance and subjection to the government and law of the land” (Kent 1848, vol. 2, p. 258). G O V E R N M E N T S

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American political processes extended the formal rights of citizenship, including political participation, to previously excluded groups. In Kent’s time, the franchise was extended to include all white male Americans when the property and tax requirements necessary to vote were removed. In addition, most states introduced the secret ballot to insulate the individual’s electoral choice from economic and social reprisals. The addition of the Thirteenth (1865), Fourteenth (1868), and Fifteenth (1870) Amendments to the U.S. Constitution after the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865), extended those same citizenship rights, at least formally, to black male Americans. With the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment (1920), the right of a citizen to vote could no longer be denied or abridged on account of sex. Native Americans were incorporated into the citizenry by congressional law in 1924. Under the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964), a citizen’s right to vote could no longer be denied or abridged for the failure to pay a poll or other tax. With the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, blacks and other racial and ethnic minorities at long last obtained a meaningful (as opposed to a formal) opportunity to participate in political processes in all parts of the country. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971) extended the right to vote to all citizens, otherwise qualified, who had reached eighteen years of age. The concept of equating citizenship with the right (for adults) to participate in governance that had begun in the early nineteenth century was completed. The American experience of the evolution of citizenship was typical. The rise of the modern nation-state, with its theoretical roots in individual natural rights, required the extension of the franchise to ever-larger groups within a country as a way to demonstrate the government’s legitimacy in the age of democracy. Paradoxically, this is best illustrated by the experiences of one-party, nondemocratic states. During Joseph Stalin’s (1879–1953) long totalitarian rule of the Soviet Union, for example, elections were frequently held to demonstrate support for the regime, although these elections were controlled by the state. With the collapse of communism and other dictatorships and the corresponding emergence of more democratic regimes, genuinely free elections have become a more general experience. As in the United States, the equation of citizenship with the right to participate politically has meant an ever-increasing number of citizens (defined as eligible voters) and a corresponding decrease—almost to the point of disappearance—of subjects. In the early 2000s most political scientists identified the “citizenship issue” with the ways in which different societies handle the controversies surrounding the entry into politics—the decision as to when new social groups should obtain access to the franchise. For in this age of democracy, when each person is considered to be a citizen, it is assumed that all individuals ought to have the right to participate politically after reaching adulthood.

■ ■ ■ franchise: a right provided by statutory or constitutional law; to give such a right reprisal: retaliation for a negative action

ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

totalitarianism: a form of absolute government that demands complete subjugation by its citizens regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

CONTINUING SIGNIFICANCE

At the dawn of the modern era, the legal debate involved discussions about whether citizenship was territorial (and hence at least potentially entailing perpetual allegiance) or personal (and hence at least potentially entailing the voluntary transfer of allegiance). Even after the United States gained independence in 1783, for example, the British maintained that all persons born within their empire owed perpetual allegiance to the Crown; according to this view, residents of the former British colonies had not become citizens of the United States. The British conception provided a justification for them forcibly to impress into their service those American G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ naturalize: to grant the privileges and rights of citizenship jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

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seamen who had been born within the empire. American resistance to this practice was one of the root causes of the War of 1812 (1812–1814). The spread of democracy and the idea of individual human rights destroyed the very thought of perpetual allegiance. In the contemporary world, citizenship is most usually acquired by birth within the territory of a nation-state. The first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enshrines this notion: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” (The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” is meant to exclude generally recognized exceptions, such as children of diplomatic personnel.) The Supreme Court has always given the citizenship clause a literal meaning; consequently, even children born in the United States to legally admitted resident aliens who could not become citizens themselves are entitled to U.S. citizenship. Race, descent, and ethnicity are not related to this territorial conception. The territorial conception of citizenship still incorporates the idea of allegiance to the nation: An individual is presumed to be loyal to the country of his or her birth. However, because the notion of perpetual allegiance has been rejected, a person is thought to be capable of changing that allegiance by relocating to another country. Within the territorial conception, naturalization is the process whereby an immigrant obtains citizenship by swearing allegiance to the nation of choice. Not every nation-state, however, utilizes a territorial conception for its legal definition of citizenship. Germany, for example, utilizes a more ethnic membership conception; citizenship adheres to children born to people who are already members of that nation. (The United States also grants citizenship to the children of U.S. citizens when those children are born abroad.) German citizenship is automatically bestowed on individuals born to Germans living abroad, many of whom have never resided in Germany. Many people who were forcibly relocated to Eastern Europe and Russia during the last four centuries of the second millennium have been legally entitled to German citizenship on the basis of their ancestry. To claim German citizenship, they could relocate to German territory and document their German heritage. But Germany has yet to extend citizenship to guest workers—even to thirdgeneration residents of the country. Some nations utilize a combination of the ethnic and territorial conceptions to legally define their citizenry. Israel, for example, regards itself as the Jewish state, the legal homeland of the Jewish people. Under the Law of Return, an immigrant visa is automatically given to every Jew who expresses a desire to settle in Israel (unless that person poses an imminent health menace or is fleeing justice), and on arrival those Jews are automatically entitled to Israeli citizenship. A non-Jewish individual can obtain Israeli citizenship by a naturalization process similar to that of the United States. Moreover, all people born in Israel’s territory are regarded as citizens. Palestinians comprise more than 19 percent of Israel’s citizenry and are entitled to all the rights pertaining thereto, including the right to vote for the nation’s political leadership. Citizenship laws define the conditions for an individual’s membership in the various nation-states of the contemporary world. In the contemporary world, that membership is the only vehicle through which an individual can claim any human right. The deprivation of citizenship involves the loss of any organized community potentially able to protect a person. Citizenship is the connecting link between an individual and a particular nation. G O V E R N M E N T S

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ONGOING ISSUES

The very laws that define the legal criteria for citizenship in a particular nation point to some of the major political problems confronting the nations of the world. Those nations that utilize an ethnic conception to legally define citizenship must confront the issue of how to incorporate individuals from other groups into the body politic. Those nations that utilize a territorial conception to legally define citizenship must confront the issue of how to generate a common national identity in a body politic comprised of multiple ethnic traditions. Utilizing an ethnic conception is presumed by its proponents to automatically create a strong bond between a nation’s government and its people. In the contemporary world, however, very few nations contain only one ethnic group. Most

IMMIGRANTS TAKE THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES IN CITIZENSHIP CEREMONIES.

Immigrants who complete the naturalization process become citizens and are granted all rights of citizens, chief among them the ability to vote. The only limitation is their inability to serve as U.S. president. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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territories embrace a wide variety of ethnic groups. Twenty-first-century Germany, for example, has almost 1 million ethnic Turks among its 82 million people. Although originally invited into Germany as guest workers, the Turks have established permanent, multigenerational communities, yet they are not permitted to help determine the policies governing the cities and nation in which they reside. This general problem will only become exacerbated by Germany’s membership in the European Union. That entity guarantees the free movement of people within the European Union; as a result, many people are immigrating to Germany from other European countries to take advantage of favorable economic conditions. For a nation such as Germany to restrict citizenship to only one ethnic group automatically deprives the others of the basic democratic right of self-government. Furthermore, a legal conception of citizenship that is based on ethnicity may also heighten a parochialism among the majority that could make it more difficult politically to include an ethnic minority. Germany, of course, is not the only democracy confronting the dilemma created by utilizing a legal definition of citizenship based on ethnicity. The problem arises from the practice of making the enjoyment of rights and privileges conditional on group membership in a world that is dominated by the democratic idea of universal individual human rights. Some countries, such as Israel, have tried to resolve this problem by modifying a primarily ethnic conception with a territorial definition of citizenship for minority groups within the nation. Israel’s non-Jewish citizens (primarily Palestinians) are entitled to all the formal, legal rights of citizenship. However, by identifying itself as the Jewish state, Israel is functionally an “ethnic democracy”—Jews and Palestinians formally enjoy equal citizenship rights, yet only Jews determine the nation’s basic policies. By considering itself to be the political expression of the Jewish people, who are not defined as the people residing in a particular geographic territory, it is impossible for a non-Jewish citizen to have that sense of membership in the larger society that is integral to the political theory conception of citizenship. The political theory conception of citizenship illuminates the plight of minorities in many nations, even those that legally define citizens in territorial terms. In India, the world’s largest democracy, Muslims and Sikhs have great difficulty believing that they enjoy citizenship rights equal to Hindus. The two minority groups recognize that religiously-based parties among the Hindu majority limit their political rights. Realistically, their aspirations have been limited to achieving formal legal recognition of their human rights and economic equality. In terms of the political theory conception of citizenship, full and equal participation in the governance of India by its minority groups is only a distant dream.

■ ■ ■ ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

Similarly, the concept of citizenship highlights fundamental problems present in other democracies. As previously noted, the United States utilizes the legal definition of citizenry to emphasize the individualistic basis of membership in American society. To create a common sense of national identity, Americans have utilized an ideological element: attachment to the basic principles of the constitution. An understanding of American citizenship is based on the belief that the right kind of individual would be welcome, regardless of background. The individual not fortunate enough to become attached to American constitutional principles based on birth could still develop the habits of mind and action to be a “real” American. E pluribus unum (meaning “out of many, one”) is the motto on the Great Seal of the United States. The need to fuse individuals who trace their ancestry to every other country in the world into one nation—a unified people with shared beliefs and values—is a continuing theme in American politics. The basic

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problem has always been how to make sure that each new group of immigrants discovers a shared attachment to the basic principles of the constitution. Because the principles of the U.S. Constitution are broad, general statements, it is notoriously easy to claim that a particular group’s traditions make its members inherently unable to accept basic American values. The specific target groups have varied over time, but the basic accusations have remained constant. Such nativist (i.e., favoring natives over immigrants) politics have frequently been harmful, posing a threat both to the target groups and to national stability. Yet when cooler heads have prevailed and a sense of calm has returned, previously attacked groups have been seen as true Americans. The individualistic cast of American citizenship has meant the absence of any permanent barriers to one particular group coming to be accepted within the American fold. The slow, concomitant acceptance of the pluralistic culture that has developed in the United States makes full, equal citizenship a feasible objective.

■ ■ ■ pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

See also: Immigration and Immigrants; Naturalization.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jacobsohn, Gary Jeffrey, and Susan Dunn, eds. Diversity and Citizenship. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 1996. Kent, James. Commentaries on American Law, 6th ed., 4 vols. New York: W. Kent, 1848. Kymlicka, Will. Multicultural Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pranger, Robert. The Eclipse of Citizenship. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968. Riesenberg, Peter. Citizenship in the Western Tradition. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. Spinner, Jeff. The Boundaries of Citizenship. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.

Martin Edelman

Civil Law Civil law is one of the two major legal systems of the world, common law being the other. The civil-law system is principally associated with Europe— especially France and Germany—but may also be found in Latin America, parts of Africa, and even countries of the Far East. The common-law system functions in the United States (except Louisiana), England, and nations that were once part of the British Empire.

C O D I F I C AT I O N

If there is a single defining characteristic of the civil-law system, it is the codification of most, if not all, areas of law. Codification refers to the act by which a country, usually through a legislative body, attempts a comprehensive statement of given fields of law (for example, contracts supplanting all prior rules and customs), the idea being to anticipate at least in a general way all the issues likely to arise in connection with that field of law. Undoubtedly the most famous code is the French Code Civil, or Napoleonic Code, developed under the direction of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) and published in 1804. Almost immediately it became the template for codes throughout Europe. The German G O V E R N M E N T S

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Civil Code of 1900 (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), widely hailed for its scientific draftsmanship, is also important. Both codes dealt with private, as opposed to public, law—similarities in private law, in fact, being the primary basis for classifying countries as belonging to one legal system or another. A distinction is often made between the codes of civil-law countries and the so-called unwritten, or judge-made, law of common-law countries. This distinction, however, is subject to serious qualification, since many common-law countries have codified at least some areas of their law (e.g., the commercial codes of the United States), and some civil-law countries rely on judicial decisions to fill in the gaps where the codes are silent.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE (NAPOLEON I). After anointing himself emperor of France in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte embarked upon many reforms to unify the region including the enactment of the Napoleonic Code, or French Civil Code, the basis of the modern legal system of civil law. (SOURCE: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

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N O B I N D I N G C A S E L AW

Another traditional distinguishing characteristic of civil law is that decisions of higher courts have no binding effect; that is, they are not themselves considered laws which the lower courts in the system must follow. The allegiance of all courts applies directly to the language of the codes (and constitutions), not to the decisions of judges. In common law, on the other hand, in addition to following a country’s constitution and statutes, lower courts must also abide by judicial decisions of high courts interpreting those laws or addressing areas not covered by them.

■ ■ ■ statute: a law created by a legislature that is inferior to constitutional law

R O M A N L AW H E R I TA G E : J U S T I N I A N ’ S C O M P I L A T I O N

Civil-law countries also share a common heritage of Roman law. In the sixth century the Emperor Justinian I (483–565), sitting in Constantinople, commissioned a group of scholars to reduce, systematize, and harmonize Roman law, which they accomplished with remarkable success. They created a summary of the best writing of the classical Roman jurists (the Digest), a systematic treatise for use by students (the Institutes), a summary of the decrees of the Roman Emperors (the Code), and a collection of later imperial enactments (the Novels). Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, as it came to be known, would in time influence legal thinking and the law of many countries in Europe. But for several centuries following the barbarian invasions in Western Europe, Justinian’s compilations tended to be largely forgotten.

jurist: a person learned in legal matters; most often, a judge treatise: a type of scholarly essay that outlines principles and draws conclusions from the factual discussion included

R E D I S C O V E R Y O F R O M A N L AW A N D I T S R E C E P T I O N

It was not until the twelfth century that scholars, particularly Irnerius (c. 1025–1125) in Bologna, rediscovered the Roman law of Justinian and began to lecture about its virtues. Students flocked from all over Europe to learn from the masters, subsequently returning to their homelands trained in the new legal science to spread what they had learned and promote Roman law’s reception. Along with Irnerius, scholars known as Glossators added their embellishments to Justinian’s compilation, and later scholars known as Commentators included their own explanations, while the canon law of the Catholic Church, which itself incorporated many elements of classical Roman law and customs (largely Germanic in nature) contributed to what was emerging as a distinctive legal system. Other rules and customs not associated with Roman law, such as those of the law merchant, were also absorbed. The Romanesque law of Justinian found its way to England, where it was taught in the universities. But as scholar Henry Wigmore has pointed out, the law never really took hold in English courts, which were greatly influenced by legal thinkers championing a native legal system and a strong legal profession practicing a unified common law.

canon: a law governing the administration of the church

L AT E R D E V E L O P M E N T S

The Romanesque legal system remained in continuous development throughout Europe when, at the end of the eighteenth century, Prussia undertook the first attempt at comprehensive codification. Napoleon’s monumental Code Civil followed soon after, and by the mid-twentieth century civil law, mixed with distinctive local elements, could be found in countries as geographically disparate as Japan and Turkey. G O V E R N M E N T S

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POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

It is impossible to speak of the development of civil law without considering its political and historical context. In France, for example, activist judges under the ancient regime had been considered particularly repressive. Accordingly, following the French Revolution (1789–1799) and Napoleon’s efforts to control its excesses, judges were assigned a role whereby they were expected to strictly apply the law, not to create it—a concept that characterizes civil law to this day. In contrast, judges of the common law, particularly in the Anglo-American courts, are endowed with significantly more discretion. In addition, judges in civil-law countries are often recent graduates of the law schools, whereas in the common-law countries, judges typically are older, more experienced lawyers who have established independent reputations in other areas of the law, such as advocacy, teaching, or politics.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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CODE NAPOLEÓN C O N T R A S T S W I T H C O M M O N L AW After coming to power, French military leader and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) introduced a civil-law legal system to France. The Code Napoleón, or Napoleonic Code, went into effect in 1804, regulating such civil rights as individual liberty, religious freedom, and divorce. When Napoleon became emperor, the French legal system was made up of varying sets of laws. In southern France, Roman law dominated, but in the north, laws had developed out of feudal system mandates. The Napoleonic Code was created to provide a uniform set of laws that were based on reason rather than on ancient custom or church tradition. The code’s first book covers personal status and lays out laws governing civil rights, marriage, divorce, and guardianship. The second book includes laws regarding personal property rights and ownership, while the third book covers the acquisition of rights, such as laws governing succession and marriage settlements. The code served as a model for many other civil codes that went into effect during the nineteenth century throughout much of Europe and Latin America. While the code has been amended slightly over the years, it remained fairly intact in the early twenty-first century.

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Although since the 1990s a few civil-law countries have adopted modified versions of jury trials in a limited number of cases, juries are not traditionally associated with civil law. In contrast, a jury of citizens randomly summoned to determine the facts of a case and decide the guilt or innocence of an accused party remains one of the hallmarks of the common-law system, albeit more so in the United States than England. Historically, trial proceedings in civil-law countries have also been distinctive. Witnesses, including parties, have less direct contact with the judges (the principle of immediacy); instead, the judges tend to base their decisions primarily on documentary evidence, including written statements of witnesses. Even when witnesses do testify in person (the principle of orality), they are usually interrogated by the judge, not by lawyers for the parties involved. Additionally, civil-law proceedings do not tend to be concentrated affairs (the principle of continuity); rather, they often extend over a longer period of time and involve successive court sessions. Conversely, in the common-law system, witnesses usually have direct contact with the judge and are subject to cross-examination by attorneys for both parties, while trials almost always proceed continuously from beginning to end and do not adjourn from week to week or month to month.

S U P R A - N A T I O N A L L AW I N E U R O P E

The civil-law systems of Europe have been considerably augmented since the 1990s. For example, the law of the European Union (EU) as applied by the European Court of Justice covers all member states with regard to both economic and social matters. Similarly, the European Court of Human Rights, established by treaty in the aftermath of World War II (1939–1945), adjudicates in binding fashion cases of alleged human-rights violations. In effect, a common law of Europe has been developing that represents an important overlay on the region’s traditional civil-law regimes.

C O N V E R G E N C E W I T H C O M M O N L AW

At the same time, there has been considerable convergence between civil and common law, especially since World War II (1939–1945). For example, France, Germany, and Spain have imported the Anglo-American concept of the jury for the purposes of trying certain serious criminal offenses. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Furthermore, various civil-law countries have embraced at least partially the common-law principles of orality, immediacy, and concentration. In addition, France, Germany, and Italy, among other states, have established constitutional courts with the power to make constitutional decisions that, to varying degrees, have a binding effect throughout the country, similar to decisions of the Supreme Court in the United States. Other procedural devices of the common law, such as alternative dispute-resolution techniques and court governance and case management methods, have also been adopted by several civil-law countries. See also: Common Law. BIBLIOGRAPHY Apple, James G., and Robert P. Deyling. A Primer on the Civil-Law System. Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center, 1995. David, René and John E.C. Brierly. Major Legal Systems in the World Today: An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Law. 3rd ed. Andover, MD: Stevens & Sons, 1985. Glendon, Mary Ann, Michael Wallace Gordon, and Paolo G. Carozza. Comparative Legal Traditions In a Nutshell, 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 1999. Schlesinger, Rudolf B., Hans W. Baade, and Peter E. Herzog, et al. Comparative Law: Cases, Text, Materials, 6th ed. New York: Foundation Press, 1998. Von Mehren, Arthur T., and James Russell Gordley. The Civil Law System: An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Law, 2d ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. Walker, David M. The Oxford Companion to Law. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1980. Wigmore, John Henry. A Panorama of the World’s Legal Systems. Washington, DC: Washington Law Book Company, 1936.

Peter J. Messitte

Civil Liberties in Emergencies One of the most controversial topics in political theory and analysis is the relationship between the individual and the state. There are a number of rival theories offering different accounts for the justification, development, impact, and origin of the state in relation to its inhabitants. One of the more common interpretations, which had considerable impact on the creation of democracies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is based on the idea of the “social contract” as developed by philosophers such as Plato (428–348 or 347 B.C.E.), Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), John Locke (1632–1704), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). These philosophers imagine a hypothetical “state of nature” before any political authority. All individuals are on their own in the sense that there is no higher authority that would command their obedience or protect their interests and possessions. Since their self-interested behavior might lead to conflict between them, individuals agree to establish institutions that define and impartially enforce binding decisions on individuals so that their lives are preserved in a physically and economically more secure environment. They enter a voluntary agreement, the social contract, to create a state to which they hand over their power and whose laws and actions they pledge to abide by. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ rule of law: the principle that the law is a final grounds of decision-making and applies equally to all people; law and order

In return, the state guarantees the protection of individuals’ civil liberties at home and against aggression from abroad. Authority needs to be backed up by legitimate coercion, of course, if the state is to be able to ensure that its laws are obeyed and transgressors are punished. Most Western democracies possess features to guarantee the legitimacy of such powers. Although their location, content, and degree of specificity might vary between states, they almost always include constitutional governments, regular elections, a competitive party system, and checks and balances between the executive, legislative, and judiciary. These arrangements exist to safeguard state authority from becoming excessive. However, in cases when a state faces enemies who refuse to accept the state’s legitimate force, reject the rule of law altogether, and threaten to go to any lengths in order to pursue their self-interested goals, the state might respond by granting measures that exceed the conventional limits on the use of state power. Such emergencies pose an increased threat to national security, territorial integrity, or public safety, and the state might feel compelled to introduce responses that help overcome the difficulties posed for normal detection methods within criminal justice. TERRORISM AS EMERGENCY

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“. . . terrorism stands out as the menacing threat to modern-day democracies.”

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Emergencies can come in many forms, such as armed conflicts with other states, internal civil unrest, or terrorist aggression. Among them, terrorism stands out as the most menacing threat to modern-day liberal democracies. After World War II (post-1945), democracies have displayed a low propensity to wage war with each other and have settled civil unrest mainly within established democratic procedures. By contrast, terrorism is a phenomenon that more frequently induces states to call for emergencies. It also has been found to be much more difficult to contain. Terrorism, then, should be of predominant concern. most Unfortunately, it is difficult to offer a precise and universally liberal acceptable definition of what the concept actually entails. The term is politically powerful, but difficult to analyze because the phenomenon ranges across a wide spectrum of actors, methods, organizations, and beliefs. Although terrorism is usually equated with political subversion by non-state actors against governments, many terrorist groups overlap with state-employed specialists in coercion such as armies, police, militias, and paramilitaries. Conversely, violent non-state actors are not always seen as terrorists. If violence is a byproduct of a struggle during which the aggressors are also pursuing other, more routine varieties of political claim making, then politicians and the public are often inclined to recognize them as liberation movements engaged in an ostensibly legitimate struggle against an unjust oppressor. Examples include the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Similarly, the methods that terrorist groups use—from kidnapping, murder, and mutilation to bombings and armed attacks—are already criminalized in most liberal democracies. Governments therefore have considerable leeway in defining what terrorism actually entails. The more generic and expansive their definition is, the more likely acts of otherwise legitimate civil disobedience or “regular” criminal behavior will be interpreted as activities against which special investigative powers are justified. An important requirement for emergency measures is that they respond to a “clear and present danger.” In other words, a threat should be clearly definable so that G O V E R N M E N T S

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measures can be directed specifically toward it, and a threat should be present so that the measures can be revoked once it ceases to exist. T H E P R O T E C T I O N O F C I V I L L I B E RT I E S

The concept of civil liberty derives from the idea of individual freedom, which can refer to one’s capacity to take advantage of opportunities (“freedom to”), as well as the absence of impediments, constraints, or interferences (“freedom from”). The civil liberties that typically are impacted when states react to emergencies are part of the fabric of most democratic regimes: 1. The right to privacy and informational self-determination, which refers to the right of individuals to be protected against intrusion into their personal lives and to prevent the unauthorized acquisition or publication of secret personal information. 2. The right to freedom of the person, which guarantees that citizens are able to go about their business without the need to explain to an authority what they are doing, and without the fear that they may be subject to arbitrary challenge or arrest. 3. The freedom of speech, which refers to the possibility for individuals, or groups of individuals, to promote a particular idea or point of view, through direct speech, books, articles, pamphlets, newspapers or broadcasting. 4. The right to property, which is related to the right to privacy stated above and is usually justified on the grounds that individuals have a right of private space. 5. The right to movement, which refers to the general right of residence as well as the freedom to come, go, and also to remain on the territory of a country. The emphasis here is on immigration control and asylum processes. 6. The right of association and assembly, which refers to the possibility of individuals to impart information and ideas. Given most people’s lack of access to the media in order to disseminate their views, the right to assembly provides the opportunity to participate in democratic debate. 7. The jurisdiction of the secret services, which refers to the proper distinction between the threat of subversive action—which might require countermeasures that are accountable to the public—and civil dissent, the handling of which is to remain in the realm of a publicly accountable police force.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region self-determination: the ability of a people to determine their own destiny or political system

arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

DOMESTIC TERRORISM

Most Western democracies have been afflicted with domestic terrorism, defined here as terror where the aggressors’ and victims’ homelands are identical. The motivation for this type of terrorism is usually one of either political ideology or national self-determination of a minority population. Such has been the case for the Basque secessionist organization Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA) in Spain; the left-wing terrorism perpetrated by the Marxist-oriented Brigade rosse and its right-wing opponents in Italy; the antiestablishment operations of the left-wing Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) in Germany; and the confrontation between Protestant Unionist and Catholic Republicans over the question of whether or not Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom. By contrast, the few incidences of domestic terrorism in the United States—such as the bombing of a government office building in Oklahoma City in April 1995—follow a more diffuse pattern: Their motivations seem to be rooted in aimless vengeance rather than political or ideological conviction. The strategy and tactics that these states have employed to neutralize their respective terrorist threats have varied widely. Some have been reactive, while

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ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived perpetrate: to commit a crime or injustice

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others have been proactive or preventive. Some have been short-term, and others long-term. However, only a few have been overtly coercive. This is because when emergency measures—such as extended stop and search powers or the suspension of requirements to search property—are introduced, the state is in danger of potentially undermining the social contract that sustains its legitimacy to rule. The crucial relationship between state legitimacy and the use of coercion in emergencies is that the latter can be either a response to or a provoker of a breakdown in the former. If legitimacy appears to be eroding because society, or sections thereof, no longer grant the state the exclusive authority to use force, then the state might try to restore obedience by increasing coercive pressures. Such pressures, however, might cause further violence, brought about by a populace that deems the oppression to be unjustified and excessive. One such example is Britain’s short-lived policy of interning, and subsequently abusing, terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland during the 1970s, which alienated the public from the authorities, severely compromised intelligence gathering in that region as a result, and further polarized an already fractured political environment. Therefore, winning hearts and minds can be an essential component of an effective strategy against domestic terrorism. When the government is not responsive to the economic and political needs of the population and the conflicting interests between the executive and the population are allowed to widen, then terrorists are more likely to find active and tacit antigovernment support. Hence, limiting the civil liberties of the masses in order to identify, detain, and punish a few transgressors is not usually a feasible option for democratic governments, which have to forego potentially more effective antiterrorist measures as a result.

■ ■ ■ polarize: to separate individuals into adversarial groups

T R A N S N AT I O N A L T E R R O R I S M

The danger of losing public support and undermining the legitimacy of the state is only imminent, however, if the threat is posed by an enemy who comes from within. A different assessment has to be made when a terrorist incident involves perpetrators from another country. In such cases of transnational terrorism, a state is less at risk of terrorists exploiting the grievances of its inhabitants; an external aggressor lends itself less convincingly to the role of “defender of the people” if the same people are actual or potential victims of that aggression. Given the possible existence of domestic collaborators, or “sleeper cells,” however, the measures a government tends to employ inside its territory to contain an external menace do not differ greatly from those aimed at domestic terrorists. Yet, when the possibility of an alliance between terrorists and the public does not serve as a disciplining constraint on governmental action, then the legislative response to an outside threat poses a potentially greater risk to civil liberties than in domestic scenarios. The response to the events of September 11, 2001, is a useful case to illustrate this point. September 11th marked a particularly striking example of transnational terrorism, with the attacks by hijacked aircraft on the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. The loss of approximately three thousand lives in a single incident was overwhelming, and the nature, planning, and scale of the attacks were unprecedented for Western democracies. Preliminary findings suggested that the attacks could be linked to al-Qaeda, a movement that is based on loose networks across national borders

transnational: extending beyond the jurisdiction of one single nation

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rather than tightly organized cells and motivated by religious and cultural ideals rather than national self-determination or a particular political ideology. The attacks spurred a rapid implementation of new antiterrorism legislation by states eager to safeguard themselves against the repetition of similar events on their own territories. U.S. legislation, which culminated in the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, is indicative for many other countries how civil liberties have been curtailed beyond what is usually possible in cases of domestic terrorism. The act gave rise to particular concerns about the lowered standards for obtaining search warrants that had previously been set by American legal precedent but with the act were effectively shielded from independent judicial review (curtailing the right to private property); the collection of personal patron information and borrowing records from public libraries (curtailing the freedom of the person); ethnic profiling; the creation and storage for fifty years of electronic records of finger prints and photographs for every single visitor to the United States (curtailing the right to privacy); and the erosion of the strict legal separation between violence and mere advocacy of violence, which had previously been protected through the First Amendment if said advocacy was abstract and the violence was not an imminent consequence of it (curtailing the right to free speech). On the spectrum of criminal activity, a country’s domestic laws can be stretched in two directions by such measures: an upstream dissolution of the line between crimes and acts of war, and a downstream dissolution of the line between crimes and minor public order disturbances. An upstream conflation occurs because crimes usually are dealt with by civil agencies, whereas acts of war are countered by military agencies. Once the events of September 11th were no longer described as “terrorist attacks” but as “acts of war,” and stateless terrorists were equated with “terrorist states,” the so-called “war on terrorism” became a matter for both police and the military. Once such a shift occurs, previously distinct areas of responsibility for internal and external security become blurred, with the latter commanding much less rigid levels of democratic scrutiny and investigative constraints. Information gathering on American soil, for example, can now be carried out by U.S. foreign

■ ■ ■ precedent: an established ruling, understanding, or practice of the law judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution

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AL-QAEDA (“THE BASE”) When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, an Islamic resistance movement (supported and financed by the United States) flourished in an effort to expel the Soviets. The Saudi-born Osama bin Laden (b. 1957) became a leader of the movement and helped found the Makhtab al-Khidamat (MAK), or “Services Office,” which recruited and trained some 10,000 Muslim fighters for the war. MAK was so successful that it became a prototype for the al-Qaeda terror network, which bin Laden launched in the late 1980s. Bin Laden later joined forces with an Afghan Islamist extremist faction known as the Taliban and established his headquarters on Afghan soil. Since then, training camps for extremist militants, or jihadis, have sprouted up throughout the world. The goal of al-Qaeda is to establish a Muslim state

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based on its specific interpretation of Islamic law, and it believes that those who do not share its interpretation are not real Muslims. Al-Qaeda has made itself the enemy of those it perceives to be active enemies of Islam, primarily secular or Shiite governments of predominately Muslim states, and has declared “jihad,” or holy war, on the United States, as the supporter of oppressive authoritarian governments in Muslim countries. U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda is responsible for several serious attacks against the United States, including the 1998 destruction of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the suicide bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in 2000. The World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of September 11, 2001, which killed thousands, are also blamed on al-Qaeda.

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intelligence services, which are subjected neither to Fourth Amendment principles nor the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Procedural safeguards, too, are often suspended—such as the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” The downstream conflation occurs between crimes and public order disturbances. Traditionally, a public order disturbance is deviant behavior that is not a criminal offense, such as those caused by graffiti writers, beggars, troublesome tenants, or protestors. What constitutes deviant behavior, however, is contingent upon a society’s perception of public order and security. Psychologically, security is compromised by fear, which is a product of an individual’s subjective interpretation of an objective situation. In addition, fear is more readily fuelled

JAPANESE AMERICANS AWAIT INTERNMENT AS ORDERED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DURING WORLD WAR II.

Per an executive order in February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had about 120,000 Japanese Americans interned at ten sites, dubbed “war relocation centers,” in the western United States as a result of fears stemming from Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

(SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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by a (real or perceived) threat that is unidentifiable, foreign, and not containable by domestic law enforcement. When searching for domestic collaborators in such conditions of uncertainty, the focus of state coercion then shifts from what a suspect has done to what he or she might do, or the threat that the suspect could pose to security and the government’s ability to rule. As is well known from nonterrorist scenarios, countermeasures are then deployed on the basis of probabilities and risk assessments rather than actual events, and suspects are identified not on the basis of an actual crime but because they correspond to a certain surveillance profile, move in certain circles, or hold certain opinions. The result is a significant increase in the surveillance of citizens’ lawful conduct. For example, any law-abiding citizen wishing to send money to relatives in a state where terrorist groups are active could be accused of sponsoring terrorism. The same applies to activists who chain themselves in front of trains transporting nuclear waste, or farmers protesting against agricultural policies by blocking motorways with tractors. Any form of political pressure exerted on governments that is not channeled through parliamentary processes may be regarded as unduly compelling a government into a course of action that it would not have taken otherwise.

C O N C LU S I O N

In times of emergencies citizens look to their government to ensure security and restore calm. Yet, the incursive legislative measures that appear to restore calm in the short term are not necessarily good for the country in the long run. From a strategic perspective it is dangerous to conflate the various forms of disobedience and criminal behavior into an undifferentiated terrorist threat that would require an extended governmental response. Threat identification and discrimination is an essential component to a sound antiterrorism strategy, which is about making intelligent choices within the constraints of limited resources. Failure to discriminate between greater and lesser threats invites miscalculation, and potentially more damaging, strategic exhaustion. See also: Freedom of Assembly and Association; Freedom of Expression; Freedom of Information; Freedom of the Press; Freedom of Religion and the State; Freedom of Religion, Foundations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY American Civil Liberties Union. Keep America Safe and Free. ⬍http://www.aclu.org/ SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=12126&c=207⬎. Elagab, Omer Y. International Law Documents Relating to Terrorism. London: Cavendish Publishing, 1997. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. London: Penguin, 1982. Locke, John. The Second Treatise on Civil Government. London: Prometheus Books, 1986. USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. Public Law 107–56. 107th Cong., October 26, 2001. ⬍http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/publaw/107publ.html⬎. Walker, Clive. Blackstone’s Guide to the Anti-Terrorism Legislation. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Dirk Haubrich

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Civil Rights Movement in the United States The civil rights movement in the United States has a long history, beginning with the political framing of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, which compromised the rights of African Americans. In the Three-Fifths Compromise, slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person, both for the purposes of representation and taxation. The issue of black civil rights continued as a center point of American domestic conflict through the Nullification Crisis of 1840, the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865), the adoption of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, the Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” decision of 1896, and the “Jim Crow” segregation tradition that defined the next five decades in the American South. The term “civil rights” has been applied to issues other than African-American racial strife, including civil rights for other racial minorities, for women, and for gays and lesbians. Beginning with the women’s suffrage movement and continuing throughout the twentieth century, equal rights for women has paralleled the movement for black civil rights. Into the early twenty-first century, gay rights has been a major civil rights issue in the United States, leading in 2004 to a movement to allow gay marriage.

■ ■ ■ suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

I M PA C T O F B R O W N V. B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N

However, when the “civil rights movement” is discussed, it almost always focuses on the issue of black civil rights in the era beginning in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared that, in the field of public education, “separate but equal has no place.” This decision, in both policy and symbolism, marked the beginning of the modern civil rights movement. It was followed a year later by a second Brown decision that ordered schools to be desegregated “with all deliberate speed.” For a decade following the Brown decisions, the civil rights movement focused largely on the issue of de jure discrimination, or discrimination by law. The first major crisis in civil rights took place in Montgomery, Alabama, when an African-American seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a public bus as required by law. When Parks was arrested, a young black pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) helped to lead a boycott of Montgomery’s city buses. The nearly year-long boycott led to a Supreme Court decision requiring the desegregation of the buses, thus affirming the effectiveness of the nonviolent civil disobedience advocated by King.

de jure: (Latin) by right

E A R LY C I V I L R I G H T S A C T S

The first major legislative accomplishment of the movement came with the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which was the first legislative action related to civil rights since the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War. The act was mostly symbolic in nature, but it established a Civil Rights Commission to study the problem and created a Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. Both of these actions served to establish preconditions for subsequent civil-rights successes in the 1960s. In the fall of 1957, the abstract commitment to desegregation of public schools stemming from the Brown decision was put to the test in Little Rock, Arkansas, at Central High School. Nine black students tried to attend the

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all-white school and conflict ensued. Governor Orval E. Faubus sent in the National Guard to maintain law and order by keeping the black students out of school. President Dwight Eisenhower (1890–1969) overruled Faubus, however, by “federalizing” the National Guard troops and ordering them to protect the black students, thus assuring national enforcement of desegregation. Near the end of his administration, Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which dealt weakly with the issue of voting rights. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, African-American students, using the tactics of King, began to protest segregated restaurants by staging “sit-in” demonstrations. In early 1960, at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, one such demonstration attracted national attention, spurring copycat demonstrations throughout the South and bringing nationwide attention to the problem. Such actions led to additional challenges to the segregation of state universities in the South. The first confrontation took place at the University of Mississippi in the fall of 1962. President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) called in the National Guard to force the school to admit a black

AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE GATHERED IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ON MAY 2, 1963 AFTER THEIR ARREST FOR DEMONSTRATING WITHOUT A PERMIT. Led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement was at its pinnacle in 1963, its success driven

by King’s belief in civil disobedience rather than violence.

(SOURCE: © BETTMANN/CORBIS. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION).

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student named James Meredith. Eight months later, a similar scene played out at the University of Alabama, where Kennedy ordered Governor George C. Wallace (1919–1998) to step aside and allow African-American students to attend the college. MOVEMENT PEAKS IN THE 1960S

■ ■ ■ seminal: original; at the basis of

de facto: (Latin) actual; in effect but not officially declared

Civil rights became the leading national domestic issue in 1963. In April, Sheriff “Bull” Conner turned fire hoses and guard dogs on civil-rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama. Television coverage of the events caused nationwide outrage about treatment of the demonstrators, and forced President Kennedy to put civil rights at the top of his domestic agenda. He endorsed the March on Washington, in which 250,000 protestors gathered in the nation’s capital to support civil rights and heard King deliver his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Kennedy also pushed for a comprehensive civil rights bill, which the House Judiciary Committee brought to the full House with its recommendation for passage just before Kennedy’s death in November 1963. President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973), who succeeded Kennedy, immediately told the American people that nothing could honor Kennedy’s memory more than the passage of Kennedy’s civil rights bill. Under Johnson’s leadership, the seminal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which included provisions for public accommodations and fair employment, was enacted. The next year Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which authorized the use of federal voter registrars to help African Americans register to vote. These two major acts largely marked the end of discrimination by law. As the de jure phase of the civil rights movement ended, other civil rights issues emerged. Although legal discrimination had ended, de facto discrimination persisted. With the change in issues, the civil rights movement changed character as well. Toward the end of King’s life, and especially after his death in 1968, other, more militant leaders began to push for immediate reform. Rejecting the nonviolent gradual progress they perceived as having characterized

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T E S T I N G B R O W N V. B O A R D O F E D U C AT I O N : LITTLE ROCK AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI In September 1957, a group of black students arrived at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite the voluntary desegregation of the school three years earlier, the “Little Rock Nine”—Minniejean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrance Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls— were denied entrance by citizens and the Arkansas National Guard. On September 20, the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, ordered the removal of the National Guard. The students were escorted into the school by police on September 23, only to be sent home because of a threatening mob attempting to enter the school. On September 25, President Eisenhower sent the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division to

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protect the Nine, who reentered the school. Eisenhower also federalized the Arkansas National Guard. Five years later, on September 30, 1962, mob violence erupted at the University of Mississippi in Oxford when James Meredith, the first black student ever admitted to the school, sought to enroll. President John F. Kennedy ordered federal marshals to ensure Meredith’s security as he returned to campus. Kennedy also sent in federal troops to quell the violence. Two people were killed and three hundred injured in the riot. Protected by a bodyguard twentyfour hours a day, Meredith did attend the university and graduated the following year.

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the movement until then, groups such as the Black Muslims (led by Malcolm X), the Black Panthers, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) demanded “black power” and immediate, fundamental change. ISSUES FOR CHANGE

Two issues illustrated the discrimination “in fact” that civil rights groups wanted to change. First, only a small part of the desegregation of schools could be accomplished by changing the laws. In most urban areas, black and white citizens lived in different parts of cities; therefore, desegregating schools would require students to be transported across town. Over the next few years, the civil rights issues would evolve into the issue of busing school children to achieve desegregation. Busing met with limited success, however. In fact, when the Supreme Court ruled in 1974 that buses should not cross school district lines, largely white suburban districts and largely minority urban districts emerged. Consequently, by the late 1980s, most urban schools had become even more segregated than they had been twenty years earlier. Second, most African Americans faced significant disadvantages in employment. Employment discrimination patterns persisted that made it difficult for black Americans to succeed in the professional job market. To confront this problem, “affirmative action” programs were developed, beginning with an executive order issued by President Johnson in 1965. Affirmative action sought to give greater education and employment opportunities to members of minority groups who had been victimized by past discrimination. The policy applied to practices such as hiring employees and making college admissions decisions. The Supreme Court addressed the latter issue in the 1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case. In it, the court showed ambivalence about affirmative action, endorsing the concept as a whole but banning the use of quotas to attain racial balance in admissions policies. In the years that followed, affirmative action continued as the signature controversy related to civil rights. During the administration of President George H. W. Bush (b. 1924), Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which allowed plaintiffs to collect damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. In 2003, in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court ruled that a University of Michigan Law School program that gave special consideration to minority students was legal. ONGOING CHALLENGES

The civil rights movement continues to characterize American politics. Although the de jure discrimination that characterized racial relations before the movement began has largely been eliminated, de facto discrepancies in the opportunities of people of different races persist. The average income of AfricanAmerican families remains significantly less than that of white families. In the presidential election of 2000, moreover, according to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, African-American ballots were more likely not to have been counted than those of whites in the closely contested state of Florida. Civil rights issues continue to be championed by groups other than African Americans, including other racial minority groups, women, and gays and lesbians. Civil rights, a priority on the federal docket in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, remained an important domestic policy issue in the early twenty-first century. The civil rights movement continued to pursue change through legislative, judicial, and executive actions.

■ ■ ■ docket: a list or schedule of cases to be heard by a court

See also: King Jr., Martin Luther. G O V E R N M E N T S

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Branch, Taylor. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. Graham, Hugh Davis. The Civil Rights Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Williams, Juan. Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965. New York: Viking Press, 1987.

James W. Riddlesperger Jr.

Colombia

■ ■ ■ guerrilla: a soldier engaged in nontraditional methods of warfare, often separate from any structured military group paramilitary: modeled after a military, especially as a possible supplement to the military

Colombia is a formal constitutional democracy and one of the oldest democracies in Latin America. Nonetheless, its democracy has often been dysfunctional in character. Even in the early twenty-first century, it struggled to provide effective guarantees of civil rights and liberties to its citizens amidst a long-standing civil conflict involving left-wing guerrilla movements, state security forces, and right-wing paramilitary forces. This conflict was further aggravated by the existence of a flourishing trade in illegal drugs.

GEOGRAPHY

indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

Colombia is located in the northwest corner of South America, adjoining the Panamanian isthmus. It is the fourth largest country in South America, comprising 1.14 million square kilometers (439,735 square miles). Colombia is dominated by the Andes Mountains, which enter the country at its southern border with Ecuador. Most of Colombia’s people live in cities and towns located in the intermountain basins and plateaus of the Andes. The country also has extensive low-lying areas known as “hot country” (tierra caliente); the temperature there is significantly warmer than the temperate climate of the mountains. Relatively speaking, all of the tierra caliente is sparsely populated. Colombia’s population is primarily mestizo (of mixed indigenous and European origin), with a smaller number of Caucasians, Afro-Colombians, mulattos (of mixed African and European origins), and indigenous people. Spanish is the primary language, and the major religion is Roman Catholicism.

SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS

per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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Between 1950 and 2000, the Colombian population more than tripled in size, growing from 12.6 million to 42.1 million. Colombia also moved from being a predominantly rural society in 1950 to a largely urban society by 2000, when 75 percent of the population resided in urban areas. The latter half of the twentieth century also witnessed a marked decline in population growth, accompanied by a significant improvement in the average Colombian’s living conditions. Life expectancy at birth increased by more than twenty years, to 70.7 years, and the infant mortality rate dropped from 123 to 30 deaths per thousand live births in 2000. Despite these changes, in 2000 Colombia continued to be classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy, with a gross national income per capita of $2,020. A severe economic crisis that began in 1996 reversed the reduction in poverty that had occurred during the previous two decades. In the early 2000s, Colombia also had one of the world’s highest rates of income inequality. G O V E R N M E N T S

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These difficult circumstances were exacerbated by extraordinarily high rates of violence. The country’s homicide rate tripled between 1970 and 1991, declining somewhat during the 1990s. The poorest sectors of society bore most of the burden of homicide. In particular, young Colombian males faced the highest risk of murder. Meanwhile, the wealthier strata of the population experienced a high incidence of property crime, extortion, and kidnapping. Colombia’s violence primarily resulted from an ongoing civil conflict involving the state, leftist guerrillas, and right-wing paramilitary forces, and it was exacerbated by its illicit drug trade. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Colombia was the world’s largest producer of cocaine, and it also had become a significant supplier of opium poppy and heroin. The drug trade produced violence between state security forces and drug-trafficking organizations, as well as among drug traffickers themselves. The drug trade also served as a major source of financing for both the left-wing guerrillas—in their quest to overthrow the Colombian government by force—and their sworn enemies, the right-wing paramilitary forces. The Colombian state security forces also received significant assistance from other countries, particularly the United States, in an effort to counter the drug trade and NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

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to advance in their fight against the illegal armed combatants. From 1985 to 2000 at least 1.5 million Colombians were forcibly displaced from their homes due to the growing military conflict.

POLITICAL HISTORY

■ ■ ■ centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority free trade: exchange of goods without tariffs charged on importing or exporting ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

vendetta: a protracted, often violent dispute, especially in the name of revenge

regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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The Spaniards established their first permanent city, Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia around 1525. At the time of the Spanish conquest, Colombia’s indigenous population comprised various groupings of Caribs, Arawaks, and the predominant Chibchas. The Spanish invaders subdued the natives and established the capital city of Bogotá by 1538. Colombia achieved its political independence in the violent revolutionary struggles that shook the South American continent after Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) deposed King Ferdinand VII of Spain (1784–1833) in 1808. Although the struggle for independence began in 1810, royalist forces were not defeated in Colombia until August 7, 1819. The nineteenth century was tumultuous. Just a decade after its independence, the Republic of Colombia experienced a severe dismemberment: Venezuela and Ecuador broke away to form independent countries in 1830. The remainder of the century was marked by a series of civil wars between the Liberal and Conservative Parties, both of which originated in the late 1840s. Conservatives favored centralized political administration, economic protectionism, and the defense of the Catholic Church’s interests, while Liberals supported federalism, free trade, and the separation of church and state. These ideological differences helped to foment seven major civil wars in Colombia during the second half of the nineteenth century. The wars also weakened Colombia significantly, facilitating the separation of Panama in 1903. Despite this recurring political violence, Colombia experienced no sustained periods of military rule, a factor that helped the two political parties establish themselves as the primary actors in Colombian politics. Indeed, much of Colombia’s political history can be understood as a struggle between the Liberal and Conservative Parties for control of the state. The period from 1946 to the early 1960s has come to be known as La Violencia, a bloody sectarian conflict between the Liberal and Conservative Parties in which approximately 200,000 people died. La Violencia began in the aftermath of the 1946 elections as Conservatives and Liberals fought over the spoils of political office. This violence intensified after the assassination of the popular Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán (1902–1948) on April 9, 1948. Particularly in the early years of La Violencia (1946–1953), state security forces were used by the Conservative Party to destroy Liberal towns, strike against Liberal Party members, and repress popular social movements. Armed Liberal guerrilla groups organized to confront the Conservative terror. La Violencia eventually spiraled out of control in the form of rural banditry, local political vendettas, and violent efforts to confront large landowners or, alternatively, to plunder small landholders. General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (1900–1975) overthrew the Conservative government in 1953, but his military dictatorship (1953–1957) proved to be incapable of stopping La Violencia. In the end, only the negotiation of a formal political pact between Conservative and Liberal Party leaders was able to halt the bloodletting. The pact created the National Front regime (1958–1974), an explicit power-sharing arrangement designed to protect the interests of both parties. Specifically, the presidency was to alternate every four years between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party for a period of sixteen years, while G O V E R N M E N T S

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all state positions, elected and appointed alike, were to be divided equally between the two parties, to the exclusion of all other parties or movements. The National Front restored civilian rule to the country and terminated the vicious partisan conflict of La Violencia. The regime, although civilian in character, was not very democratic. All third parties were formally excluded from participation in the National Front. Even as the partisan violence of La Violencia faded away, one result was that a number of leftist guerrilla movements emerged in the 1960s and early 1970s. The principal guerrilla movements were the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC), the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, or ELN), the People’s Liberation Army (Ejército Popular de Liberación, or EPL), and the April 19th Movement (Movimiento 19 de Abril, or M–19). Unlike the Liberal guerrillas of La Violencia, these leftist guerrillas sought to overthrow the established political and socioeconomic order. The National Front regime formally ended in 1974 with the termination of bipartisan presidential alternation and congressional parity, though other aspects of parity remained in place until the early 1990s. In 1991 a speciallyelected National Constituent Assembly drafted a new national constitution (the first since 1886) with the explicit purpose of broadening and deepening Colombian democracy. Nevertheless, the 1991 Constitution did not end the ongoing civil conflict, primarily because neither the FARC nor the ELN participated in its drafting and thus did not feel compelled to respect the new constitutional order.

■ ■ ■ parity: a state of equality, or being identical

CIVIL CONFLICT AND CONTEMPORARY POLITICS

The last quarter of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twentyfirst century in Colombia were characterized by an intensification of the internal civil conflict, punctuated by intermittent attempts at peace negotiations. The peace effort of Belisario Betancur’s (b. 1923) Conservative administration from 1982 to 1986 ultimately failed. However, it progressed the furthest with the FARC, which launched a legal political movement called the Patriotic Union (Union Patriótica, or UP). Soon after its founding, however, thousands of UP members began to be assassinated, largely by right-wing paramilitary forces with the occasional participation or acquiescence of state security forces. The ceasefire with the FARC ultimately broke down during the Liberal administration of Virgilio Barco (1921–1997) from 1986 to 1990. During the Barco administration, right-wing paramilitary groups began to flourish as they benefited from an influx of drug money and the collaboration of certain sectors of the state security forces. The growing power and violence of drug cartels also reached a peak during this period. In the face of an intense state crackdown in 1989 and 1990, the Medellín Cartel initiated a campaign of terror that included dynamite attacks, car bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. During this same period, however, the M–19, the EPL, and two smaller guerrilla movements signed peace accords with the government and disbanded. The possibility of participating in the 1991 National Constituent Assembly to draft a more democratic constitution provided a concrete incentive for the demobilization of these guerrilla movements. With the adoption of the 1991 Constitution, much of the violence perpetrated by the drug traffickers eased during the Liberal administration of Cásar Gaviria ( b. 1947) from 1990 to 1994. The new constitution expressly prohibited the extradition of Colombians to stand trial abroad, a key concern of the drug G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity

cede: to relinquish political control of lands to another country; surrender

cartels. Nevertheless, the violence continued unabated, as neither of the country’s largest guerrilla movements—the FARC and the ELN—had participated in drafting the new constitution. Although the Gaviria administration engaged in peace negotiations with both guerrilla movements, these efforts did not come to fruition. The Liberal administration of Ernesto Samper (b. 1950) from 1994 to 1998 was marred by a serious drug scandal, in which the president was accused of receiving several million dollars from the Cali drug cartel to fund his election campaign. Although Samper steadfastly denied the charges, the accumulation of evidence led to two unsuccessful attempts to impeach the president, a marked worsening of relations with the U.S. government, and a debilitating crisis of political legitimacy, all of which weakened Samper’s efforts to deal with the civil conflict. Both left-wing guerrilla movements and right-wing paramilitary groups expanded significantly during this period, benefiting from their profitable involvement in the drug trade. Conservative President Andrés Pastrana (b. 1954), whose term ran from 1998 to 2002, engaged in a fitful dialogue with the FARC leadership for more than three years, during which time the guerrillas were ceded a (41,440-square-kilometer/16,000-square-mile) demilitarized zone that was intended to facilitate peace talks. The talks ultimately failed, however. The Pastrana administration grew increasingly concerned about abuses committed by the FARC in the demilitarized zone, while the FARC repeatedly charged the government with failing to curtail the right-wing paramilitary forces. The peace talks broke down definitively in February 2002 when the government ordered the military to reoccupy the demilitarized zone. Parallel peace talks with the smaller ELN guerrilla movement also were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, with the goal of combating drug trafficking, the United States vastly expanded its funding and training of Colombian state security forces under the auspices of Plan Colombia. The election of the hard-liner and maverick Liberal Alvaro Uribe (b. 1952) as president of Colombia in 2002 reflected the growing frustration and disillusionment of much of the Colombian populace with the ongoing conflict. Uribe had been critical of the peace process during the Pastrana administration and promised to reestablish firm state authority throughout the country.

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E A N D A C T UA L P R A C T I C E decentralize: to move power from a central authority to multiple periphery government branches or agencies municipality: local governmental units, usually cities or towns

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State authority is formally exercised in Colombia in accordance with the 1991 Constitution, which defines Colombia as a “decentralized, unitary Republic, with autonomous territorial entities, democratic, participatory, and pluralist” (Article 1). Administratively, the country is divided into thirty-two departments that are further subdivided into municipalities. Colombia does not have a federal structure, since departments and municipalities are strictly limited in their scope and competencies by the constitution and national legislation. At the national level, the executive branch is led by the president, who is both head of state and head of government. The president and vice president are elected by national popular vote to serve four-year terms. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the presidential election, a run-off election is held between the top two candidates. The president is limited to one term in office and governs with the aid of a cabinet of appointed ministers. Traditionally, the president has exercised tremendous political power. The 1991 Constitution removed the president’s ability to appoint departmental governors, weakened the president’s veto power, limited the president’s ability to G O V E R N M E N T S

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issue legal norms, and restricted the president’s ability to govern under “state of siege” decrees. Nevertheless, the presidency remains Colombia’s key political office. The executive branch enjoys extraordinary fiscal powers; all budgetary bills must originate in the executive branch, and Congress can increase spending in a given area only with the written authority of the respective cabinet minister. The legislative branch consists of a bicameral Congress, the members of which are elected through a system of proportional representation to four-year terms. The 102-member Senate has 100 members elected from a single national electoral district and 2 indigenous members elected by members of indigenous communities. The Chamber of Representatives is elected in departmentally based districts, with each department granted a minimum of two representatives and an additional representative for every 250,000 inhabitants. In the 2002 legislature, this translated into 166 representatives. Congress traditionally has suffered from a lack of public confidence due to such practices as absenteeism, nepotism, corruption, foreign junkets made at taxpayers’ expense, and extensive pork-barrel legislation. The 1991 Constitution addressed some of these concerns by establishing strict eligibility requirements for candidates for Congress, as well as explicit

■ ■ ■ bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

nepotism: favoritism for one’s own family in the appointment to positions or granting of other benefits

■ ■ ■ insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority

COLOMBIANS RALLY AGAINST ENDURING VIOLENCE BY HOLDING HANDS AND WAVING WHITE FLAGS IN BOGOTA ON MAY 19, 1998.

For decades Colombia has been defined by unwavering violence caused primarily by political strife, poor economic conditions, and drug cartels. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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conditions under which a member of Congress could be removed from office and stringent conditions for travel abroad. The 1991 Constitution also strengthened the legislative branch by giving Congress the power to override presidential vetoes more easily; to censure executive cabinet members; to modify legislative decrees issued by the president; and to limit the president’s authority under the declaration of a state of siege. ■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

The judicial branch is organized into several functional jurisdictions. The “ordinary” jurisdiction works through a hierarchical system of municipal courts, circuit courts, superior courts, and the Supreme Court, a twenty-three-member body that hears appeals from lower-level courts and has the authority to investigate the president, members of Congress, and other top government officials. The “administrative” jurisdiction deals with disputes arising from official public acts, as well as the acts of private entities performing public duties. It adjudicates these matters through departmental courts and the Council of State, a twenty-seven-member body that serves as the highest administrative court in the country. Finally, the “constitutional” jurisdiction is the realm of the Constitutional Court, a nine-member body dedicated to determining the constitutionality of a wide range of laws, bills, referendums, and treaties. The 1991 Constitution transformed the previous judicial system in which judges had been responsible for investigating a crime, issuing a verdict, and sentencing the criminal. Under the new system of justice, a separate, independent body investigates the crime and prosecutes the accused before the judge, whose responsibility is limited to that of judging and sentencing. The leading role is played by the office of the general prosecutor, which is charged with “investigating crimes and accusing the suspected infractor before the corresponding courts of law” (Article 250). The general prosecutor, who serves for a period of four years, is selected by the Supreme Court from among three nominees chosen by the president.

delineate: to depict, portray, or outline with detail de facto: (Latin) actual; in effect but not officially declared

insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority

The formal, constitutional exercise of power as delineated in the 1991 Constitution is constrained in actual practice by several significant factors. First, the weakness of the Colombian state has opened the door to de facto control of certain areas by guerrilla movements or paramilitary organizations. Second, the Colombian political system is still clientalist: politicians use their access to office to distribute specific state benefits in return for promises of future votes. Such a system perverts the notion that all citizens should have equal access to state benefits and encourages citizens and politicians to think in narrow, selfserving terms rather than in terms of the public good. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Colombian presidents governed largely under the declaration of a “state of siege,” which allowed them to exercise legislative and judicial power. Excessive reliance upon state-of-siege governance undermines democracy through the undue accumulation of power in the hands of the executive. Finally, Colombian democracy continues to be weakened by the direct and indirect participation of the state security forces in human-rights abuses in their conduct of the war against leftist insurgents. See also: Constitutions and Constitutionalism; Democracy; Dictatorship; Political Corruption; Political Parties; Presidential Systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Archer, Ronald P. “Party Strength and Weakness in Colombia’s Besieged Democracy.” In Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America, ed. Scott Mainwaring and Timothy R. Scully. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995.

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Bergquist, Charles, Ricardo Peñaranda, and Gonzalo G. Sánchez, eds. Violence in Colombia 1990–2000. Waging War and Negotiating Peace. Wilmington, DE: SR Books, 2001. Braun, Herbert. Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia, 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2003. Bushnell, David. The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Crandall, Russell. Driven by Drugs: U.S. Policy toward Colombia. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002. Dix, Robert H. The Politics of Colombia. New York: Praeger, 1987. Dudley, Steven. Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia. New York: Routledge, 2004. Hartlyn, Jonathan. The Politics of Coalition Rule in Colombia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Hartlyn, Jonathan, and John Dugas. “Colombia: The Politics of Violence and Democratic Transformation.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America, 2nd. ed. Larry Diamond, Jonathan Hartlyn, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 1999. Kirk, Robin. More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America’s War in Colombia. New York: Public Affairs, 2003. Kline, Harvey F. State Building and Conflict Resolution in Colombia, 1986–1994. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1999. Martz, John D. The Politics of Clientelism: Democracy and the State in Colombia. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1997. Morgan, Martha I. “Colombia.” In Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Posada-Carbó, Eduardo, ed. Colombia: The Politics of Reforming the State. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Randall, Stephen J. Colombia and the United States: Hegemony and Interdependence. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992. Safford, Frank, and Marco Palacios. Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Population Database. New York: United Nations Population Division, 2004. ⬍http://esa.un.org/unpp/index.asp?panel=1⬎. World Bank. Colombia Poverty Report. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2002. ⬍http:// wbln0018.worldbank.org/LAC/lacinfoclient.nsf⬎. World Bank. World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2002.

John C. Dugas

Colonies and Colonialism A colony is a political and administrative unit that is under the political control of another, usually geographically distant, entity. The controlling entity has been called several names over time, including colonizer, empire, motherland, and protector. As well, control has been exercised in differing ways, falling into two general patterns: direct rule and indirect rule. Under direct rule, colonies were commonly divided into districts administered by imperial appointees. For example, in French West Africa—which in the G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion

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twentieth century included Guinea, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gabon, and Mauritania—the head district administrator, called the commandant de cercle, was in charge of regional tax collection, public works, justice, education, military recruitment, labor relations, and the execution of mandates from the colonial governor. In contrast, indirect rule, which was practiced extensively by the British, exercised control through the traditional authority systems and institutions of the entities being colonized. For example, the British employed the services of the princes in India and the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria. Understandably, indirect rule worked best in colonial areas where relatively strong and organized precolonial authority systems existed and where the rulers of those systems welcomed or were resigned to imperial collaboration.

■ ■ ■ infrastructure: the base on which a system or organization is built

On the whole, colonies were pursued as part of colonialism, a political process and system whereby imperial-minded nations pursued power and prestige by conquering and then ruling other nations and peoples. Natural resources, free labor, territory, strategic access to protect and extend existing colonies, and market opportunities were among some of the key reasons for colonization. Advocates of colonialism suggested that it provided economic and political infrastructures necessary for development and democracy, and critics highlighted its negative aspects such as economic plunder, slavery, inequality, racism, underdevelopment, and political instability. Colonization dates back to ancient times, but modern colonization lasted from the fifteenth to the twentieth century and involved the pursuit of power and prestige, especially by European powers in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Noted European colonizers during that period included the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. Minor ones included Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and, in the twentieth century, the United States. Denmark and Belgium were the European nations that were perhaps the least known as colonial powers. Denmark’s one noted possession was the Danish Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, and Belgium’s was the Democratic Republic of the Congo, once known as Zaire, in Central Africa. Denmark sold its colony to the United States in 1917 for $25 million as the European homeland faced impending German occupation during World War I (1914–1918). This possession is now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Congo won independence in 1960. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), which dominated parts of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa between the thirteenth and early twentieth centuries, also pursued colonization in Asia, Africa, and Europe, as did Japan in Asia.

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

cede: to relinquish political control of lands to another country; surrender

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During the height of modern colonization in the nineteenth century, the United Kingdom possessed the most expansive empire, with interests in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Their domain was so expansive that it gave rise to the saying “The sun never sets on the British Empire,” reflecting the number of time zones under their jurisdiction and the fact that it was always daylight in some part of the empire. Many colonies passed back and forth between colonizers, due to military conquest and negotiated exchanges to settle wars and political disputes. For instance, because of its strategic harbors, St. Lucia in the Caribbean was the subject of an intense struggle between France and the United Kingdom during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, changing ownership fourteen times before finally being ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814. In some cases territories underwent multiple colonial reconfigurations as European powers waged war and made political deals. For instance, at one time during the eighteenth century parts of modern Guyana in South G O V E R N M E N T S

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America were controlled by the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and in the nineteenth century parts of modern Tanzania were under British, German, and Ottoman rule. Although several colonies, especially in South and Central America, broke away from their imperial masters during the nineteenth century, several twentiethcentury military and political developments facilitated wholesale decolonization, which entailed the dissolution of colonial empires and establishment of politically independent states out of those empires. Decolonization was secured by both violent and nonviolent methods. Violence was notable in the case of colonies belonging to France and Portugal, and nonviolence was the norm in the case of those belonging to the United Kingdom.

DRAWING OF QUEEN VICTORIA OF ENGLAND, WITH A KNEELING INDIAN WOMAN BEFORE HER. During Queen Victoria’s lengthy reign (1837–1901) as the British monarch, she

was also the head of state of other countries, including India, that comprised the British Empire. (SOURCE: © HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)

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■ ■ ■ self-determination: the ability of a people to determine their own destiny or political system nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

commonwealth: a government created to advance the common good of its citizens

Unexpectedly, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s (1856–1924) “Fourteen Points,” a key aspect of the settlement of World War I, gave impetus to the pursuit of political self-determination among people in colonized Africa and Asia, although Wilson’s focus was on self-determination in the AustroHungarian and Ottoman Empires. World War II (1935–1945) and its aftermath gave a dramatic spark to nationalism and self-determination, creating a decolonization steamroller, as colonizing empires, recovering from the war, had become too weak to fend for themselves, much less protect and preserve their empires. The expansion of the membership of the United Nations (UN), an outcome of World War II, was a direct result of decolonization, although the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Balkanization of several Eastern and Central European countries were also major contributing factors during the 1990s. At its creation in 1945, the UN had fifty-one members. A decade later, it had seventysix, and in 1965 it had 117. In the following decade, membership increased, reaching 144 by 1975. Two decades later, in 1995, it had grown to 185. In 2004 it stood at 191. As decolonization progressed and the world community embraced nationalism and political self-determination, the term “colony” gave way to several others. Thus, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, there are few remaining colonies, but several “dependent areas,” “protected areas,” “associated states,” and “commonwealths.” The United Kingdom has this type of relationship with the following territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. France has interests in Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glioroso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, and Wallas and Fortuna. The Netherlands has Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, and the United States has American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Wake Island. These few relationships are all that remain of what used to be widespread colonialism. Thus, although colonies are not entirely history, the era of colonization is effectively over. See also: France; Netherlands, The; Spain; United Kingdom; United States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Barker, Francis, Peter Hulme, and Margaret Iversen, eds. Colonial Discourse, Postcolonial Theory. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1994. Colonial/Post-Colonial Web Sites. 2004. ⬍http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/ postcolonialism.html>. European Imperialism and Regional Responses. ⬍http://www.bcpl.net/~sullivan/ modules/imperial/sites.html>. Kirby, Diane, and Catherine Coleborne. Law, History, Colonialism: The Reach of Empire. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2001. Lawson, Gary, and Guy Seidman. The Constitution of Empire: Territorial Expansion and American Legal History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.

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Maddox, Gregory, ed. The Colonial Epoch in Africa. New York: Garland, 1993. Sowell, Thomas. Conquests and Cultures: An International History. New York: Basic Books, 1998. Van Bremen, Jan, and Akitoshi Shimizu, eds. Anthropology and Colonialism in Asia and Oceania. Richmond, UK: Curzon, 1999.

Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith

Common Law Two systems of law have emerged throughout history: the common law of England and the civil law of the Roman Empire. Common law evolved from judicial decisions over time based on tradition, custom, and precedent in historical England. Civil law is derived from written legal codes in which disputes were settled by reference to edicts, broad principles, and legislation. Most of the nations of Europe, Latin America, and East Asia are governed by one of these two systems of justice. Although the two legal systems are different in many respects, they converged in the latter years of the twentieth century due to a failure of courts to keep pace with social developments and an increased reliance on statutory law in many societies.

■ ■ ■ precedent: an established ruling, understanding, or practice of the law

H I S T O R Y O F C O M M O N L AW

Common law originally developed as a result of the unification of England and the institutional stability provided by William the Conqueror (c. 1027–1087) after 1066. Prior to 1066, the Anglo-Saxon peoples were governed mainly by local customs and rules that varied from village to village and were often enforced arbitrarily by informal public assemblies. The clergy who controlled much of European society at the time preferred the civil-law tradition and endeavored to preserve it through the training of scholars and judges in Roman law principles. The seeds of the common-law system were first planted by laymen and judges appointed by Edward I (1239–1307). Their mission was to promote the common law as an alternative to the law system controlled by the clergy. Laymen established societies called “inns of court,” where they devoted their lives to the study of the common law. Judges were selected from these societies by the king to administer the law and make judgments based on precedents provided by past decisions. A unique aspect of common law was that it was based on the law of the courts as expressed by judges in the form of judicial decisions rather than on general principles or edicts enunciated by the Church. These judicial decisions, if issued by the highest court in the jurisdiction, were binding on all other courts in the jurisdiction. A weakness of early common law, however, was that the only remedy available was monetary damages. During the twelfth century, Henry II (1133–1189) institutionalized the common law by creating a powerful unified court system based on it. The establishment of the new court system diminished the significance of the canonical courts and the Church’s preference for the civil-law system, invoking anger and dissent within the Church. Thomas Becket (1118–1170), the archbishop of Canterbury, was an outspoken critic of the king’s policies against the Church. In 1163, Becket sought the complete exemption of the Church from all civil jurisdiction, allowing undivided control of its clergy. The king, however,

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jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

canon: a law governing the administration of the church

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■ ■ ■ jurist: a person learned in legal matters; most often, a judge

redress: to make right, or, compensation

chancery: a court of equity, especially in the United States, England, or Wales

statute: a law created by a legislature that is inferior to constitutional law

adversarial system: a legal system in which two opposing sides present arguments and a third party renders a verdict

called a meeting of the clergy at Westminster and demanded that they renounce all claim to exemption from civil jurisdiction and acknowledge the equality of all subjects before the law. Becket was later assassinated by the king’s followers. In 1215 King John (1167–1216) elevated the importance of the common law at Runningmead when he signed the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta freed the Church, localized the court system, and codified the basic principles of the common law. A few decades later, Henry de Bracton (1210–1268), an English judge and writer on English law, wrote the famous treatise De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (On the laws and customs of England), in which he asserted the supremacy of the common law over the king. Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), an English jurist, later became the great champion of the common law against encroachments by the king and declared null and void royal proclamations that were contrary to the law. By the sixteenth century, common law had come to supplant civil law as the predominant legal system in England. Judges and lawyers repudiated the civil-law system as outdated and inapplicable to the English polity. Although the common law was still somewhat unwieldy in terms of procedural rules, it had opened the door substantively to a host of new rights and protections that were not applicable under the civil-law tradition. For example, litigants discovered that they could petition the king for further redress if monetary damages were not sufficient to right a wrong committed against them (i.e., eviction in the case of a squatter occupying one’s land). It was out of this pursuit of additional remedies that courts of chancery and equity emerged. Over the next few centuries, the common-law system continued to develop and expand geographically throughout the world. In 1774, when the representatives of the various American colonies met in Philadelphia, they declared the common law of England to be part of the basic rights and liberties to which the colonies were entitled. In 1848, the state of New York enacted a code of civil procedure that merged law and equity into one jurisdiction. Subsequently, the Field code reforms—named for the codes’ drafter, David Dudley Field (1805–1894)—were adopted by the U.S. federal government, most of the states, and the United Kingdom. These codes placed the administration of law and equity suits in the same courts. Today, every state in the United States, except Louisiana, uses the commonlaw system. Most state statutes require that the common law, equity, and statutes in effect in England in 1603 should be included in the law of the jurisdiction. The common-law system also constitutes the basis of the legal systems of Canada (except for Quebec), Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Africa, among other nations. Each of these common-law jurisdictions recognizes the importance of the adversarial system and the fundamental principles of law that have been adopted over the centuries by way of custom and case law.

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customary law: a law created by the traditions of a community but never officially declared in force

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Civil law, in contrast to common law, developed out of Romano-Germanic law—the law of continental Europe—based on an admixture of Roman, Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, commercial, and customary law. The beginnings of the civil-law tradition can be traced to the Twelve Tables written in 449 B.C.E. The Twelve Tables laid the foundation for Roman law, which would develop over the centuries and become one of the most advanced systems of G O V E R N M E N T S

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law in human history. It included a number of important legal concepts, including the notion of private international law, and the distinctions between contract and tort, and property and possession. In the sixth century the Emperor Justinian (c. 483–565) codified much of Roman law in the Corpus Juris Civilis. The Corpus Juris Civilis is regarded as one of the most influential legal texts ever written and has been on the reading lists of law schools in countries using civil law for nearly 1,500 years. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Church oversaw the development and preservation of the civil-law tradition through the Middle Ages. Roman law later was supplanted by Germanic laws, but it was revived during the eleventh century as part of a much broader renewal of interest in classical culture in Europe. Following the rise of the nation-state system in Europe, natural or civil codes were established in several countries, including France, Spain, Germany, and several Latin American and East Asian countries. The purpose behind the civil codes was to create a unified system of laws or statutes derived from basic principles and on which judicial decisions could be based. Perhaps the most widely known civil code is the Napoleonic Code established in France in 1804, which also serves as the basis for the civil-law systems of Quebec and Louisiana today. The German civil code provides the legal foundation for the civil-law systems of the former Soviet-bloc countries, as well as Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Most of Latin America also uses the civil-law system, shaped by the civil codes of its former colonial masters in Europe.

■ ■ ■ tort: a civil crime for which the law provides a remedy

nation-state: a relatively homogeneous state with only one or few nationalities within its political borders

Napoleonic Code: French law first established in 1804; it is the first known legal code within a civil legal system

C O M M O N L AW V E R S U S C I V I L L AW: DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC S

One of the key elements that distinguishes common law from civil law is the role of precedent. Precedent is the principle in law of looking to past judicial decisions to assist in the application of the law to a given set of facts. There are two types of precedent: (1) binding precedent and (2) persuasive precedent. Binding, or mandatory, precedent is rooted in the doctrine of stare decisis (“let that stand which has been stated”), which expresses the notion that prior court decisions must be followed as precedents according to case law. In a common-law system, lower courts must follow prior judicial decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction. A Supreme Court or high court, however, is not bound by lower-court precedents and may overrule or modify

■ ■ ■ FAST FACTS Louisiana is the only U.S. state that operates under the Napoleonic Code, or civilian law system.

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FIELD’S CODE REFORMS Frustrated by a cumbersome common-law system that forced attorneys to rely on an increasingly complex body of judicial opinions, New York jurist David Dudley Field (1805–1894) spent much of his professional career spearheading judicial reform. Beginning in 1839, Field began the laborious process of codifying the body of New York law into written form, merging law and equity proceedings into a single jurisdiction and dramatically increasing the accessibility of a systematized and consistent body of law for attorneys, magistrates, and clients.

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While his efforts met with some initial resistance, Field’s code reforms were eventually adopted by the federal government, many state governments, and even several foreign countries. After completing his work on the domestic codes, Field went on to draft an outline of an international code in 1872, which considered the peacetime relationships among nations. A second edition of his international code included a section on wars among nations.

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its own judicial decisions. The principle of stare decisis is not recognized in most civil-law jurisdictions, however, on the grounds that it interferes with the right and duty of judges to interpret and apply the law as it is written in the codes or statutes. The second type of precedent is persuasive, or advisory, in nature and is based on the notion that lower courts should adhere to a higher court’s decision unless there is a strong reason to ignore, overturn, or modify the decision. Unlike the role of precedent in the same jurisdiction under the common law, in which former decisions control the court unconditionally, the role of precedent in separate jurisdictions does not control the court’s decision. Under the common-law systems of most U.S. states, courts often ignore their own decisions or the decisions of higher courts in separate jurisdictions because such decisions are only persuasive. This second type of precedent is more compatible with civil law. Nonetheless, courts are still expected to adhere to their own precedents in the absence of strong justification to ensure predictability in the law. Purported Certainty. Another important characteristic of the common law is ■ ■ ■ arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

vagary: a sudden, unexpected change

codification: the making of official law

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its purported certainty. There is no place—at least in theory—for a lawyer’s opinion or the private interpretations of judges under the common law. Because the common law—again, in principle—controls the arbitrary discretion of judges, it is supposed to produce certainty with regard to one’s rights and duties under the law. New rules may be adopted from time to time and judicial decisions may be overturned, but these new rules or decisions will become binding precedents, thus restoring certainty to the law. Thus, an individual coming before the court will be assured of the same decision in the same type of case. The principle of stare decisis in judicial decision-making has guided the development of the common law over the centuries in an effort to foster predictability of the law. Civil law also claims to strictly regulate judicial discretion: It posits the ideal role of the judge to be that of “the mouth of the law,” speaking only what is required by the statutes or law codes. Nevertheless, civil law depends on flexibility in interpreting the law to a much greater degree than does common law. Different schools of judicial interpretation exist in most civil-law countries, and the law tends to be a product of these competing schools. Judicial disregard of precedent may be considered to be a strong point of the civil-law system, even if it makes the law less certain, because it allows for alternative interpretations of the law that may be more compatible with the facts and circumstances of a particular case. One of the results of this more flexible approach in applying the law is that judicial opinions tend to be more concise, as courts discuss only the relevant legislation that applies rather than detailing how a decision was reached. However, the civil-law systems of Europe, as one might expect, are still subject to the vagaries and uncertainties that come with judge-made law in which precedents have little influence. Statutory Codification. A third distinguishing feature of common law is that it remains relevant alongside of statutory codification. Statutory codification is the process by which a statute is passed with the intention of restating the common-law position in a single document. However, statutes may leave out a number of things that are provided for in the common law. If a statute seeking to codify the common-law tort of negligence excludes the right to seek certain damages (i.e., loss of earnings and emotional distress) provided for under common-law negligence, a person may still pursue those excluded damages under common law. These damages need not be set forth in statute as long as they already exist under the common law. In most common-law jurisdictions, lawmakers understand that statutes are to be drafted in light of the common-law

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tradition, and so they may omit a number of things, knowing that preexisting case law or custom serves as backstop to statutory law. T H E C O N V E R G E N C E O F C O M M O N L AW A N D C I V I L L AW

The evolution of the common law has been a process of discovery as well as a stabilizing force for civilization. Early common law, unlike civil law, was inflexible, procedurally unwieldy, and provided for only monetary damages. Over time, however, common law has become more reliable and predictable than civil law, as adherence to the principle of stare decisis has yielded a consistent record of case law for judges and lawyers to follow. Until recently, the common-law and civil-law systems differed sharply due to the different emphasis each placed on basic notions such as judicial discretion and certainty in the law. However, given the rapid changes in culture, politics, media, and communications in the last century, the common-law courts have found it more difficult to keep pace with social developments.

IN CAMP ZEIST, NETHERLANDS, SCOTTISH JUDGES (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) LORD ABERNATHY, LORD COULSFIELD, LORD SUTHERLAND, AND LORD MACLEAN IN MAY 2000. The highest criminal court is the High Court of Justiciary that shares a group of thirty-four

judges with the Court of Session (the highest civil court). Trials typically employ one or two judges with a fifteen-member jury and are usually held in the Parliament House in Edinburgh. (SOURCE: © REUTERS/CORBIS)

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Increasingly, the courts have turned to statutory law to fill gaps in the common law created by social developments. For example, there is no tort of wrongful death under the common law. Wrongful death, which permits a spouse or child to sue for damages on behalf of the deceased, is purely a statutory cause of action. Thus, in the absence of a wrongful death statute, a person cannot look to the common law for relief under this cause of action. Courts generally are supposed to interpret such statutes strictly according to their terms, and, in doing so, to regard the legislature’s intent as controlling. In sum, the convergence of common law and civil law has been an important development in legal history. Common-law judges have come to recognize the need for the expansion of statutory law in many fields, including commercial, administrative, and criminal law. The effect of this convergence has been to reduce the reliance on precedent and judicial supremacy in favor of more democratically driven law within the common-law system. Although common-law judges still look to precedents provided by past decisions to resolve the vast majority of disputes, legal scholars no longer see the common law and the civil law as mutually exclusive. See also: Civil Law. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hogue, Arthur. Origins of the Common Law. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1986. Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. The Common Law, Lecture (1881). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1991. Merryman, John. The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Western Europe and Latin America. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994. Plucknett, Theodore. Concise History of the Common Law. 5th ed. Aspen, CO: Aspen Publishers, 1956.

Klint Alexander

Comoros ■ ■ ■ archipelago: a chain of islands in close proximity to one another

transnational: extending beyond the jurisdiction of one single nation

coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

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The Union of Comoros is a group of three islands located off the west coast of Africa northeast of Madagascar. The islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin. The total land mass of the archipelago is slightly smaller than Rhode Island (2,170 square kilometers; 840 square miles). Comoros has one of the world’s most underdeveloped economies, based primarily on agriculture. Most of the agricultural output on the islands is for domestic consumption. A combination of a traditional landlord elite and transnational corporations owns most of the land. Comoros has a population of about 652,000 as of 2004, and 90 percent or more of the population is unemployed. The people of Comoros are of mixed African, Arab, and Malagasy descent. The population is overwhelmingly Muslim (98%), and Islam plays a strong role in everyday life of the people of Comoros. Formally a colony of France, Comoros declared its independence in 1975. Since then, there has been much political instability, with twenty coups or attempted coups. After over a quarter-century of virtual political chaos, which featured coups by French mercenaries and domestic military forces, the two southernmost islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from the G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ Union in 1997. However, Anjouan was ruled by opposing factions that agreed on secede: to break away from, especially secession but disagreed on whether to join France. Fighting broke out on the politically island, which spread throughout the islands. Finally, in April of 1999 Colonel Assoumani Azzali (b. 1959) seized power from President Mohamed Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde (1933–2004). Azzali sought to end the bloodshed and the secessionist crisis by adopting a confederal form of government called the 2000 Fombrini Accord. Azzali was subsequently elected president with an overwhelming 75 percent of the vote. However, in the legislative elections held in April 2004 opponents of Azzali, who supported greater island autonomy, gained power, which reinforced the devolution process set in devolve: to move power or property from one individual or institution to another, motion by the president. especially from a central authority The new constitution, which is a hybrid of French and Shari’a (Islamic) law, was implemented in 2001 and approved in the subsequent legislative election. The president serves as both the head of state and the head of government, and the office rotates every four years among the elected presidents of each of the three islands. The legislature is unicameral with thirty members, half of whom are chosen by the islands’ local assemblies, with the other half chosen through universal suffrage. This arrangement gives considerable power to the individual islands, which are largely autonomous in the confederal arrangement. The Supreme Court consists of seven members: two are appointed by the president, two by the Federal Assembly, and the remaining three by the legislative council of each island. This court is independent of the legislative and executive branches and reviews the legality of legislation. Despite its tradition of political instability, Comoros is an emerging arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing democracy, although it is still in its infancy. In 2004 Freedom House ranked without notice Comoros as being “partly free.” Numerous provisions in the constitution call for the protection of human rights; prohibit arbitrary arrests, torture, and inhumane forms of punishment; and allow for freedom of press and freedom of speech. COMOROS Furthermore, the elections held during the early 2000s, in 25 0 50 Miles Grande Comore which the political opponents of the president gained Mitsamiouli Rangoi Kouni 50 Kilometers 25 0 Mtsaoueni strength, were an encouraging sign for those who support Chezani M'Beni Hahaia democracy. Still, with the extremely high unemployment rate, Koumbani Itsandra Mt. Kartala Moroni lack of domestic land ownership, and relatively high illiteracy 7,746 ft. 2361 m. INDIAN OCEAN Mitsoudje Bandamadji rate (43.5%), it is clear that many challenges remain for the Foumbouni Dembéni Union of Comoros. Pointe Sud Anjouan

See also: Federalism; France; Shari’a.

Mwali (Mohéli) Mifon

Fomboni

Nioumachoua

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Canzouni

Ouani

Mutsamudu

Itsamia

Sima

Chiconi

Pomoni Moya Antsahe

Sanzi

Arab.Net. Comoros. ⬍http://www.arab.net/comoros/⬎. “Comoros.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/cn.html⬎.

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Freedom House. “Comoros.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/ freeworld/2004/countryratings/comoros.htm⬎.

Île de Mayotte (Fr.) Île Pamanzi

Mozambique Channel Comoros

(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

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McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of African History, 2d ed. Hong Kong: Penguin Books, 1995.

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Confederations ■ ■ ■ coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

nation-state: a relatively homogeneous state with only one or few nationalities within its political borders conscript: to draft an individual into the armed services against his will

A confederation (or confederacy) is a voluntary alliance of sovereign, independent states established to manage matters of common concern to the member states, such as defense. The verb confederate has traditionally meant to form an alliance that carries out the will of a coalition of interests, none of which surrenders sovereignty to the confederation. Leading historical examples of political associations called confederations include the Swiss confederations of 1291–1798 and 1814–48, the Dutch Republic (1589–1795), the Articles of Confederation of the United States (1781–1789), the Germanic Confederation (1815–1866), and the southern Confederate States of America (1861–1865). Prior to the invention of modern federalism by the framers of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and 1788, the word “confederal” was interchangeable with the word “federal”, as in The Federalist, where use of the word “federal” by Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), James Madison (1751–1836), and John Jay (1745–1829) actually means what is today called confederal or confederation. The U.S. Constitution, however, transformed the historic concept of federalism as confederation into the modern concept of federation and, as a result, created the widespread view that confederation is a weak, even outmoded, form of government. A key difference between a federation and a confederation is that a federation establishes a nation-state that possesses attributes of sovereignty; the general (or national) government can legislate directly for individuals. Thus, for example, under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government can tax, fine, arrest, and regulate individuals and also conscript citizens into military service. In contrast, the confederal government under the U.S. Articles of Confederation could not tax, fine, arrest, or regulate individuals or conscript citizens into the military. There is no precise, universally applicable definition of confederation or exact distinctions between confederal and federal systems of government because, in practice, confederations vary in their characteristics. In addition, characteristics of confederation and federation get mixed together in response to real-world political conditions. For example, Switzerland’s constitution is titled “The Federal Constitution of the Helvetic (or Swiss) Confederation.” The European Union’s core decision-making structure is confederal, yet many of its other structures and operations are federal in nature.

ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT

The word “federal” comes from the Latin foedus, meaning “covenant.” A covenant signifies a partnership or marriage in which individuals or groups voluntarily consent to unite for common purposes without giving up their fundamental rights or identities. The covenant idea originated in the Hebrew Bible, which holds that a covenant is a theological concept as well as a political idea that stands in contrast (a) to organic forms of government based on a common ancestor, who was sometimes thought to be a god, and (b) to forms of government based on conquest. The covenant idea emphasizes that all relationships—between God and humans and among humans themselves—should be established by mutual and voluntary consent and signified by a covenant or compact of mutual promise and obligation. The Hebrew Bible describes a succession of covenants between God and, successively, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. It also includes a political covenant that established Israel initially as a confederation of tribes. Together, the tribes developed a common identity as the people of Israel, but tribal

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identities and institutions were preserved, and a division of powers existed between the confederation and the individual tribes. The covenant idea was universalized in Western civilization when Christianity adopted the Hebrew Bible as its Old Testament (literally, Old Covenant) and added its own New Testament (i.e., New Covenant) during the epoch of the Roman Empire. However, theological and political concepts of covenant were soon pushed into the background of Christian doctrine by Greek and Roman ideas. Although the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues of ancient Greece demonstrate Greek familiarity with the idea of confederation, neither covenant nor confederation was central to Greek political philosophy. The emergence of Western and Eastern church empires, moreover, culminated in the oppressive, hierarchical forms of religious organization and political governance of the Middle Ages. The outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in 1517 produced a revival of covenant. Various Reformed Protestants who followed Martin Luther’s (1483–1546) break from the Roman Catholic Church—such as John Calvin (1509–1564), Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), and Huldreich Zwingli (1484–1531)—moved the covenant idea to the center of theology. With the

■ ■ ■ hierarchy: a group of people ranked according to some quality, for example, social standing

THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 21, 1999. Comprised of 191 member states, the UN General Assembly is headquartered in New York although it first met in London on January 10, 1946. As a confederation, the assembly itself has no authority to pass laws; rather, this is accomplished through its members. (SOURCE: © REUTERS/CORBIS)

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■ ■ ■ secularism: a refutation of, apathy toward, or exclusion of all religion

breakdown of medieval forms of religious organization, Reformed Protestants developed a political theology of covenant, which held that the only legitimate basis for forming church congregations and larger church structures was through the consent of individual members and congregations. Similarly, Reformed Protestants, in their revolts against Catholic princes, combined the covenant idea with popular sovereignty to develop theories of resistance to tyranny and rights of revolution, as in Philippe Duplessis-Mornay’s (1572–1600) famous Vindiciae contra tyrannos of 1579. At first, reformers emphasized the idea that monarchs can rule legitimately only through a threeway covenant of mutual consent between God, monarch, and the people, but the monarchomachs (i.e., monarch-eaters) and other reformers soon argued that people do not need monarchs because only Jesus Christ is king and, thus, on earth, humans, who are equal in the eyes of God, are free to organize their own governments on the basis of mutual consent. Such covenant ideas flourished wherever Reformed Protestants established footholds, especially in Switzerland, parts of Germany, Puritan England, Presbyterian Scotland, the Dutch provinces, and Huguenot France. The first systematic political ideas articulated in North America were those of the Puritans’ federal or covenant theology, and the first political covenant was the Mayflower Compact of 1620. For the Puritans and other Reformed Protestants, individuals forged covenants in marriage to form families; families made covenants to form congregations and towns; local congregations and towns consented to covenants to form larger structures of government; and entire colonies could form a union such as the New England Confederation (1643). Nonreligious reformers later secularized the covenant idea. The first fullfledged political theory of federalism is attributed to Johannes Althusius (1557–1638), who wrote Politicia Methodice Digesta (1614). The covenant idea is central to Thomas Hobbes’s (1588–1679) Leviathan (1651), to John Locke’s (1632–1704) Two Treatises of Government (1690) in which Locke used the word “compact” to signify a political covenant, and to the works of other English and Scottish political philosophers of the seventeenth century. The covenant idea also was applied widely to international relations by such thinkers as Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), where it became known as the federative principle of treaty- and agreement-making. The framers of the U.S. Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution were strongly influenced intellectually by these secular philosophers, as well as by the predominance of covenant-based religions in North America—from the Baptists, Calvinists, and Congregationalists in New England to the Dutch of New York, Presbyterians of the middle and southern states, Quakers and German sectarians of Pennsylvania, Scots-Irish of the mountains and piedmont from Pennsylvania to Georgia, Huguenots of South Carolina, and Jews scattered throughout the states. The framers were also familiar with the once-powerful political union of the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca Indian nations, collectively known as the Iroquois Confederacy.

R E A S O N S T O F O R M A C O N F E D E R AT I O N

A confederal system is ordinarily established through the voluntary coming together of different sovereign states to form a league or alliance for purposes of mutual aid and defense against foreign aggression. By uniting, smaller states and political communities can mount larger and more effective defense forces. They also can establish peace and security within the confederation by setting

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forth rules and procedures that prevent war among themselves. These were important motivations for the drafters of the U.S. Articles of Confederation. Another, less common reason is economic; namely, to establish a protected area of free trade that can foster economic development and prosperity within the member states by eliminating trade and tax barriers between the confederation’s member states. This was an important motivation for the founders of the European Union.

■ ■ ■ free trade: exchange of goods without tariffs charged on importing or exporting

P R I N C I PA L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S

There are no fixed characteristics that apply to all confederations. Instead, one can speak only of common and customary characteristics. The characteristics of confederations also are highlighted by distinguishing them from federations. No Authority to Legislate for Individuals. Ordinarily, a confederal govern-

ment cannot tax, arrest, or conscript individuals into the military or regulate commerce among its member states. It can act only through its member states. For example, the United Nations, which is a type of confederation, cannot tax, arrest, or conscript individuals into its peacekeeping forces or regulate international commerce. However, the European Union, which is still at base a confederal system, has been increasingly invested with substantial powers that directly affect individuals. No Independent Revenue Sources. Ordinarily, a confederal government, having no tax powers, possesses no independent sources of revenue to support its operations. Instead, it must rely on contributions or dues payments by its member states. As a result, many member states fail to pay their full dues, as was the case under the U.S. Articles of Confederation when most of the thirteen states paid far less than they were asked to pay to support the confederation. The United Nations faced the same problem early in the twenty-first century. This lack of independent revenue is intentional, however, because the member states wish to guarantee their ability to control the confederal government according to the principle of “the one who pays the piper calls the tune.” Sovereignty Retained by the Member States. Consequently, no sovereignty or attributes of sovereignty are usually vested in a confederation, and a confederation cannot act as a single sovereign entity. Instead, sovereignty is retained by the member states, and the confederation acts only at the behest of the member states. Member-State Citizenship. Likewise, individuals usually retain citizenship in

the separate member states and also identify patriotically with the member states because there is no citizenship in the confederation. By contrast, in the U.S. federal system, individuals have dual (federal and state) citizenship. As a result, even if all the member states of a confederation are democratic, the confederation itself is not democratic. This is why, for example, there is constant debate about a “democratic deficit” in the European Union. Written Document. A confederation is usually established by, and based on, a written document. This document is not a constitution; instead, it is described as articles, convention, treaty, or some other term. The document states the purposes of the confederation, the terms of confederation, the structure and procedures of the confederal government, and, most important, the specific powers that can be exercised by the confederation.

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■ ■ ■

THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY The Iroquois Confederacy is a complex social and political union of Iroquois people comprising the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca Indian nations. It is also called the Five Nations, and sometimes, the Six Nations, since the Tuscarora joined later. Complete with its own orally transmitted constitution, the Iroquois Confederacy is an agreement that binds all six separate Iroquois nations into one alliance. The constitution lays out their agreements for joining together in decisions regarding war, peace, and trade alliances.

At the turn of the twenty-first century the Iroquois grand council continued to use the confederacy’s constitution to guide it in decision-making. Scholars have called the Iroquois Confederacy the oldest participatory democracy still in existence. Some historians believe the confederacy was formed as early as C.E., 1390, although others say it was organized around C.E. 1450–1500. When the American colonists began developing the U.S. government, they were influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy and its constitution.

Expressly Delegated Powers. A confederation usually possesses only limited,

specific, and expressly delegated powers. That is, a confederal government can exercise only those powers that are expressly (i.e., explicitly) stated in the document (e.g., articles or treaty) that establishes the confederation. It can only do what it is expressly permitted to do; it cannot broaden its powers through interpretation. Equal Decision-Making Representation. In a confederation, all member states

ordinarily have equal representation in the confederation’s decision-making council, and each member state ordinarily has one vote in the decisionmaking council—as in the United Nations General Assembly. The fact that each state is represented by two senators in the U.S. Senate is a reflection of this confederal principle of equal representation. In the confederal congress, each state had one vote. Furthermore, the member-state representatives in a confederal council are usually appointed and also paid by their member-state governments rather than being elected by the people of the member states and paid by the confederal government. As such, the members of a confederal council are more like ambassadors than representatives. ■ ■ ■ super-majority: a legislative majority so large that the party can pass whatever legislation it wishes

Extraordinary Voting Rules. Frequently, majority voting is rejected in confederal decision-making councils in favor of super-majority and unanimous voting. For example, the confederal congress under the U.S. Articles of Confederation could exercise its major, expressly delegated powers only if nine (69%) of the thirteen states voted to do so. Amendments to the Articles required the unanimous consent of all thirteen member states. Similarly, in the United Nations Security Council, any one of the five permanent members can veto a proposal even if all other members of the council approve it. Secession. Ordinarily, member-states of a confederation are permitted to leave

or secede from the confederation. In contrast, nearly all federations prohibit secession by constituent states.

secede: to break away from, especially politically

E VA L UA T I O N

Although there are examples of enduring confederations, such as the Swiss confederation, confederation is commonly viewed as a weak form of government because the general confederal government has few powers, the

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member states have substantial veto powers against the confederation, warfare can fragment a confederation, and foreign powers can divide and conquer a confederation. Confederation is not likely, therefore, to be a viable form of government for a political community that seeks to be a nation-state or superpower. In turn, the weaknesses and problems of the United Nations suggest that confederation is not a viable model for general global governance. However, the emergence of regional political and economic associations, such as the European Union, suggests that new types of confederation that combine confederal and federal principles can be viable ways of promoting political and economic integration in specific regions. Furthermore, under conditions of peace, with military protection from a superpower such as the United States or a strong alliance such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), regional confederal arrangements might be able to flourish for political and economic reasons. Even if such regional confederations are not democratic or are only partly democratic, their legitimacy might be maintained so long as the member states are democratic and so long as the confederation delivers economic, political, cultural, and environmental benefits to the peoples of the member states.

■ ■ ■ North Atlantic Treaty Organization: a military alliance chiefly involving the United States and Western Europe that stated that, in the event of an attack, the member countries would have a mutual defense

See also: Federalism; European Union; United Nations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Carney, Frederick S., ed. & trans. Politica, Johannes Althusius. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1995. DeRosa, Marshall L. The Confederate Constitution of 1861: An Inquiry into American Constitutionalism. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1991. Elazar, Daniel J. “Confederation and Federal Liberty.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 12, no. 4 (1982):1–14. Forsyth, Murray. Unions of States: The Theory and Practice of Confederation. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press, 1981. Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist, ed. Jacob E. Cooke. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1961. (Original work published 1787–1788) Hughes, Christopher. Confederacies. Leicester, UK: Leicester University Press, 1963. Jensen, Merrill. The Articles of Confederation. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1948. Kincaid, John. “Confederal Federalism and Citizen Representation in the European Union.” West European Politics 22, no. 2 (1999):34–58. Laski, Harold J. ed. A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants: A Translation of the Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos by Junius Brutus (1924). New York: Burt Franklin, 1972. Lister, Frederick K. The European Union, the United Nations, and the Revival of Confederal Governance. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. McLaughlin, Andrew C. The Confederation and the Constitution, 1783–1789. New York: Crowell-Collier, 1962. Wheare, Kenneth C. Federal Government, 4th ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1964.

John Kincaid

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Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire) The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) originally emerged on February 23, 1885, three days before the end of the Berlin Conference, as the International Association of Congo. The country was renamed the Congo Free State (CFS) on July 1, 1885. The CFS subsequently became Belgian Congo in November 1908, and it remained a Belgian colony until June 1960, when it achieved political independence. It was known as the (Democratic) Republic of Congo from 1960 to 1971 and as Zaire from 1971 to 1996. President Laurent Kabila (1939–2001) renamed it the DRC in May 1997.

GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE

■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

The DRC has jurisdiction over a territory covering approximately 2,350,000 square kilometers (907,100 square miles) in central Africa, making it the twelfth largest country in the world. It has 37 kilometers (23 miles) of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean and shares borders with Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola. Most of the country lies within the hollow of the Congo River basin, except the eastern region, which is the highest elevated and the most rugged area of Congo. The DRC had an estimated population of 58 million in July 2004, divided among more than 230 ethnic groups. This population size makes the DRC the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, second only to Nigeria with 145 million. The last official census in July 1984 indicated a population of 29.7 million; the current estimate represents a staggering increase of 85 percent in twenty years. Congo is not overpopulated, however. Average population density remains relatively low, at fifty-five persons per square mile, with unequal regional distribution; the capital city of Kinshasa has more than four hundred inhabitants per square mile. Although urbanization began as recently as the 1940s, the urban population has increased to almost 40 percent of the total. The Congolese population is young, with 87 percent under the age of forty-five. The size and composition of the population are affected by uncontrolled, illegal, and continuing immigration to Congo from neighboring countries.

POLITICAL BACKGROUND magistrate: an official with authority over a government, usually a judicial official with limited jurisdiction over criminal cases

cede: to relinquish political control of lands to another country; surrender

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From 1885 until the annexation of the CFS to Belgium in 1908, King Leopold II (1835–1909) of Belgium was the legislator, chief executive, and chief magistrate of the CFS. The king’s first act was to assert his authority over the Congo Basin by declaring all lands that were not effectively occupied by African communities as belonging to the state. A mix of trade barriers and state monopoly expanded state resources, especially in early 1896 when rubber became the hottest commodity in the world markets. By 1906, the king derived more than 45 percent of state revenue from direct taxes paid on rubber by the African population. Although economically lucrative, the development of a rubber economy was devastating to the African population. Africans who gathered wild rubber were overworked, coerced, and underfed. Millions of Africans were either killed outright by Leopold II’s agents or died from mutilations inflicted by those agents, exhaustion or injuries from forced labor, or exposure to inhumane conditions. Pressures from the international community forced Leopold II to officially cede the CFS to Belgium in 1908. The colonial government reinforced controls and institutionalized forced labor in 1917. However, G O V E R N M E N T S

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it also implemented economic reforms that encouraged foreign private investments. As a result, Belgian Congo became one of the few European colonies to achieve a relatively fast economic growth after the Great Depression (1929–1933). An accelerated program to provide Africans with decent housing, primary education, and hospitals took place after World War II (1939–1945); as a result, the medical infrastructure in the colony became the best in tropical Africa. Nonetheless, Belgian rulers never prepared the Congolese for self-rule. At the time of independence on June 30, 1960, not one Congolese administrator was capable of overseeing the administrative system left in place by the Belgians. This situation became apparent a few days after independence. The army rebelled and several mutinies spread throughout military garrisons. On July 11, 1960, the mineral-rich Katanga province seceded, followed by the diamondwealthy Kasai province in August. The formula adopted by the provisionary constitution, called Fundamental Law, was at the root of social upheaval in early years of independence. It recognized a threefold division of powers: between the central government and the provinces, between the two legislative houses, and between the head of state and prime minister. More specifically, the duality of executive powers meant in theory that the president would be cast in the role of the Belgian king, acting largely as a figurehead, with effective power vested in the hands of the prime minister.

■ ■ ■ infrastructure: the base on which a system or organization is built

secede: to break away from, especially politically

figurehead: an individual with a title of leadership, but no real authority or power

In the context of the newly independent Congolese setting, however, this system planted the seeds of a major conflict of jurisdiction between the president G O V E R N M E N T S

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Rebel leader Laurent Kabila began recruiting children for his military in 1996 and continued to do so after his forces toppled dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.

YOUNG DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO SOLDIERS PARTICIPATE IN THE REBEL MOVEMENT GROUP. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

■ ■ ■ coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

and the prime minister. In September, tension mounted between President Joseph Kasavubu (c. 1910–1969) and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba (1925–1961) regarding the division of powers. The ensuing legitimacy crisis resulted in a coup d’etat led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu (1930–1997; also known as Mobutu Sese Seko) in an effort to neutralize Lumumba, who was perceived by the West as pro-communist. In February 1961, Mobutu returned power to Kasavubu, and Lumumba was murdered during the same month in Katanga. Political instability followed, as opposing groups struggled for the control of the central government. Two governments, Leopoldville (renamed Kinshasa) and Stanleyville (renamed Kisangani), claimed legitimacy. The United Nations (UN) reconciliation efforts ended the dual governments in 1961. The UN troops withdrew from the DRC in June 1964 after defeating the Katanga secession. While the UN was withdrawing, a rebellion broke out in January 1964. By the end of December 1966, however, it had ended. The main cause of the revolt was the popular perception that Congolese leaders who had replaced white rulers were just as bad and oppressive.

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On November 24, 1965, General Mobutu took power again, under the pretext of curbing the ethnic basis of political demands that had been polarizing the Congolese society. He banned opposition parties and ruled Congo as a dictator for more than thirty years. Mobutu consolidated his rule by several constitutional amendments. The most important amendment occurred in August 1974 that institutionalized “Mobutism.” This law implicitly made Mobutu president for life and above the law.

■ ■ ■ polarize: to separate individuals into adversarial groups

Although Mobutu seemed firmly in control in the mid-1970s, a rebel group called the National Front for the Liberation of Congo invaded the Katanga province from Angola in March 1977 and May 1978. The invaders were driven out both times, by Moroccan troops and Western soldiers, respectively. Another major challenge to Mobutu’s power came after the collapse of the Soviet Union, as he could no longer garner Western support under the pretense that he would—if not courted by the West—turn to the communists. In April 1990, President Mobutu liberalized his political system. By December, a large number of new parties had been established, and they all requested a national conference to set new institutional arrangements. After several false starts, the conference sat until December 1992 and dissolved the National Legislative Council (which had been elected in 1987 from a list of approved candidates from Mobutu’s party) and replaced it with a 453-member transitional legislature, the High Council of the Republic (HCR). Mobutu refused to recognize the council, however. In early 1993, the ensuing legitimacy crisis between the president and the opposition-dominated HCR resulted in the appointment of two rival governments. In January 1994, the HCR and the then-defunct National Legislative Council were reconstituted as a single body, becoming the High Council of the Republic–Parliament of Transition, whose role was to oversee the activities of a transitional government. In June 1994, Mobutu agreed with the appointment of Leon Kengo wa Dondo (b. 1935) to a fifteen-month term as the interim prime minister.

interim: for a limited time, during a period of transition

Four days after assuming power, Kengo found himself hosting nearly 1.2 million Hutu refugees from Rwanda who had abruptly entered eastern Congo after the Tutsi-led army took power in Rwanda. The influx of refugees increased tension in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, as local politicians used the Hutu refugees to exploit rivalry over nationality and land rights between the Congolese of Rwandan origin—Banyarwandan and Banyamulenge—and other groups in the region. Meanwhile, Mobutu refused to allow a transition to democracy and continued to exploit these ethnic divisions. In late October 1996, Mobutu’s undisciplined army put up little resistance when Kabila’s rebel group, known as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo/Zaire, along with Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers, seized the town of Goma and other eastern parts of the country. Many of Mobutu’s opponents joined the movement as it advanced across Congo. On May 17, 1997, the rebel army entered the capital city without resistance from government forces. Twelve days later, Kabila proclaimed himself president of Congo. Mobutu died in September 1997 in Morocco after a long battle with prostate cancer. The second Congolese war in less than two years began in August 1998 and was triggered by Kabila’s decision to expel his former allies, the Rwandan and Ugandan troops. Kabila was saved in extremis by Angolan and Zimbabwean armies as part of the military alliance of the Southern African Development Community. Many commentators have described the anti-Kabila war as Africa’s G O V E R N M E N T S

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in extremis: at the point of death; pushed to the furthest limitations possible

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first world war because it involved several wars on the Congolese territory: four of Congo’s neighbors fighting their own rebel groups, Congolese rebels fighting against Kabila, and Congolese rebels fighting against one another. The result was catastrophic in eastern DRC. Estimates remain controversial, but perhaps as many as 4 million people perished during the war. A peace summit was convened in Lusaka in late June 1999 that culminated in the signing of an accord a month later by the presidents of the DRC, Angola, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. None of the rebel leaderships was represented. The most important aspect of the accord was the organization of an inter-Congolese dialogue. Kabila was assassinated on January 16, 2001, however, leaving the country half-occupied by foreign troops and rebel groups. Joseph Kabila (b. 1971) succeeded his father and his speeches gave the West and regional players some hope for a renewal. A peace deal was signed in April 2003 in South Africa that resulted in the formation of a government of national reconciliation. According to the deal, Kabila, the president, would lead the transitional government, assisted by four vice presidents from the two main rebel groups, the government, and civil society.

A BRIEF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

The DRC is a country endowed with vast mineral resources, and copper has remained the cornerstone of its wealth since colonial times. Although the political instability that followed independence in 1960 resulted in severe economic dislocations, it never affected the mining sector. Thus, early Congolese leaders maintained the colonial infrastructure despite the early years of political turmoil. When Mobutu took power in 1965, he embarked on and implemented several economic policies that worked relatively well. From 1966 to 1973, the economy expanded at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent in real terms. Mobutu’s efforts to control the economy and sustain his patronage system in late 1973 met with catastrophic results, however.

■ ■ ■ patrimonialism: a system of government in which the ruler personally controls all aspects of life, including politics and the economy, and personal wealth or power is a function of an individual’s personal relationship to the ruler

The practice of patrimonialism gave free reign to the enrichment of the president and his clients in government. Corruption became the norm; out of greed and fear for their own survival those at the top institutionalized this corruption and locked their subordinates into these practices in a systematic, normative way so that wrongdoing was the rule. Thus, during his long dictatorship, Mobutu and his associates used government funds as well as foreign aid to amass huge personal fortunes, which they invested abroad. In 1985, foreign debt represented 241 percent of exports, or 112 percent of the gross domestic product. Therefore, by 1985 Mobutu and his associates had effectively sold Congo to its foreign creditors. By the end of Mobutu’s reign, which was marked by extreme greed and rampant corruption, in May 1997, the economy had deteriorated to the extent that Congo had no adequate roads, no adequate schools, and no operational hospitals. These dislocations further deteriorated as a result of civil wars. Most citizens reacted to economic dislocations by resorting to the unofficial economy and ethnic associations for help. The consequence of these dislocations has been disastrous to children who have paid the price of civil wars and also have borne the burden of disease. First, children as young as ten years of age joined rebel groups. Second, children, who in 2004 accounted for roughly 20 percent of the population, accounted for 80 percent of all deaths, which were mostly attributed to malaria. Moreover, malnutrition as a result of poverty is rampant. Among adults,

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AIDS has spread widely; with 4 percent of its population testing positive for the disease, the DRC has become one of the most infected sub-Saharan countries.

POLITICAL LIFE DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD

The rise of Laurent Kabila marked a period of high hopes for the Congolese and their neighbors. The West also expected a positive change, from several decades of greed and corruption to democracy and clean management. Kabila dashed these hopes, however, with his leadership style. He outlawed public demonstrations and banned political party activity. More specifically, numerous subsequent demonstrations were violently dispersed. Furthermore, Kabila centralized power in the presidency and appointed his relatives to important positions in the government. He also suppressed any debate over macroeconomic strategy. In the process, he increased control over the polity to fetter the emergence of any opposition faction capable of challenging his authority. With party activities suspended, Kabila encouraged the formation of “committees” to act as a link between the government and citizens. The DRC had no functioning constitution as of 2004, although a referendum for a new constitution was planned for late 2005. The transitional legislature, which was formed by Laurent Kabila and reshaped after the formation of the government of reconciliation in 2003, had no oversight power over the executive. The judiciary also lacked authority. The judges were ill-trained and subject to manipulation by the executive branch. Military and government officials everywhere have appropriated many of the functions traditionally reserved to the judiciary. Moreover, regional military officers represent the real centers of power in the provinces despite the appointment of civilian governors. Security forces and the military commit numerous extrajudicial killings, and citizens are denied the right to a fair trial. In sum, the government has a poor record with respect to human rights.

■ ■ ■ centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority macroeconomics: a study of economics in terms of whole systems, especially with reference to general levels of output and income and to the interrelations among sectors of the economy factionalism: a separation of people into competing, adversarial, and self-serving groups, usually in government referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

extrajudicial: outside the legal system; lacking the legitimating authority of the government

The 2003 accord, concluded after more than a year of talks brokered by the South African government, outlined a two-year transitional period intended to lead the country to its first democratic elections since independence. Although the transitional government promulgated a new law that guaranteed political plurality, there remained no assurance that democratic elections would be held as scheduled in 2005. For those in the government, keeping their positions at the expense of democratic elections meant maintaining access to state spoils. It was partly for this reason that Laurent Kabila’s associates found it convenient to designate Joseph Kabila as his successor.

promulgation: an official declaration, especially that a law can start being enforced

As life during the transition period became less predictable, people tended to discount heavily the future. The result was an increase in opportunistic behavior on the part of state managers. Thus, democratization and development goals were set aside and opportunistic behavior gave way to greedy behavior on the part of decision-makers. The incentive to capture the state to penetrate and transform the political system was no longer the driving force behind state managers, who preferred to pursue personal enrichment.

democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives

See also: Dictatorship; Political Corruption.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Emizet, Kisangani N. Zaire After Mobutu: A Case of Humanitarian Emergency. Helsinki, Finland: United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics, 1997. Emizet, Kisangani. “Confronting Leaders at the Apex of the State: The Growth of the Unofficial Economy in Congo.” African Studies Review 41, no. 1 (1998):99–137.

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Emizet, Kisangani. “Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Mosaic of Insurgent Groups.” International Journal on World Peace 20, no. 3 (2003):51–80. Emizet, Kisangani. “Legacies of the War Economy: Challenges for Postconflict Reconstruction.” In The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace, ed. Karen Ballentine and Michael Nest. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. Gondola, Didier C. The History of Congo. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002. Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. Meditz, Sandra W., and Tim Merrill, eds. Zaire, a Country Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994. Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges. The Congo: From Leopold to Kabila. New York: Zed Books, 2002. Young, Crawford. Politics in the Congo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965. Young, Crawford, and Thomas Turner. The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.

Kisangani N.F. Emizet

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■ ■ ■ ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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The Republic of the Congo, also known as Brazzaville (the name of its capital city), is located on the southeastern shores of the Congo River. It covers a surface area of 342,000 square kilometers (125,000 square miles) and has a population of 3 million people. It shares boundaries with several countries with which it has linguistic, ethnic, and colonial bonds. Congo became Africa’s sole Marxist state as far back as 1968. In the conduct of its policies, however, the country has been more pragmatic than ideological. Congo gained independence in 1960. Its first president, Abbe Fulbert Youlou (1917–1972), served for three years until a general strike brought to power a radical regime led by Alfonse Massamba-Debat (c. 1921–1977). In 1968 another military government, headed by Marien Ngouabi (1938–1977), came to power and the Congolese Workers Party was created, which served as the vanguard movement establishing the leftist orientation of the political system. Ngouabi was assassinated in 1977, and a regime under Colonel Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango (b. 1939) was in control for the next two years. In 1979, Denis Sassou-Nguesso (b. 1943), another military official, rose to power. He served until 1992, when the democratic wave across the continent swept him out of office. In the early 2000s, Congo was nominally democratic. Its initial transition to democracy in the early 1990s was one of the smoothest in the continent. General Sassou-Nguesso succumbed to pressure from a civil society movement to organize a national constitutional conference. In 1992, he lost the subsequent elections and retired from public life with his Cobra militia intact. An attempt by the government of democratically elected Pascal Lissouba (b. 1931) to disarm the former president’s militia led to a civil war. The Congo’s smooth transition to democracy became a bloody postdemocratic transition. Nguesso received support from outside sources, including troops from the government of Angola and the Rwandan Hutu militia, as well as the diplomatic favor of France. This allowed him to prevail, and a cease-fire G O V E R N M E N T S

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came into effect in 1999. A peace agreement was signed in 2001, but the level of reconciliation and harmony in Congo politics remained relatively low. A new constitution was approved in January 2002, which gave the president even more control of the political system. Nguesso, who was elected to a seven-year term, received 89.4 percent of the votes in the March 2002 presidential election. The legislature is bicameral, consisting of the Senate (Upper House) and the National Assembly (Lower House). The legislature has few powers and cannot impeach the president. Several political parties are represented in parliament, including the ruling Congolese Worker’s Party of the President, which with its coalition members, controls 83 out of 137 parliamentary seats. The legal system is based on French civil law and customary law. However, judges who are appointed by the president tend to respond to his wishes. In a country in which extra-constitutional tactics such as coups d’etat and militias have been the norm in politics, personal freedoms and human rights are not always guaranteed and protected. Ordinary citizens, however, benefit from a wider range of opinions than residents of most other francophone countries, especially because of their extraordinary familiarity with leftist ideas dating as far back as the 1960s. Labor unions and the military are the most influential interest groups.

■ ■ ■ impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals customary law: a law created by the traditions of a community but never officially declared in force

See also: Peacekeeping Forces.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY “Congo, Republic of the.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cf.html⬎. Mars, Laura, director. Nations of the World: A Political, Economic and Business Handbook. Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2003. Ramsay, F. Jeffress, ed. Global Studies: Africa, 10th ed. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/ Dushkin, 2004.

H. Mbella Mokeba

Constitutional Courts

■ ■ ■ de facto: (Latin) actual; in effect but not officially declared

adjudicate: to settle a case by judicial procedure

Broadly defined, a constitutional court is a court that adjudicates disputes over the interpretation and application of a political system’s constitution. In the United States disputes over the federal constitution occur in all levels of the federal and state court systems, and courts in general are capable of resolving those constitutional disputes. Thus, in the American model of constitutional review most courts in the judicial system can act as constitutional courts. Moreover, American courts are generalist, in the sense that they are all capable of resolving a wide variety of disputes, from constitutional issues to family and labor law disputes. The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the American political system and therefore has the final say on constitutional disputes. As scholars note, the fact that the Supreme Court’s decisions on the Constitution are final means that although it is a generalist court which can resolve a broad assortment of legal disputes, it has evolved as a de facto special constitutional court that often devotes much of its attention to constitutional cases. In contrast to the American model, a different type of constitutional court emerged in Europe after World War II (1939–1945). Modern European constitutional courts are often distinct, specialized courts that only adjudicate constitutional issues. In many European states there is one constitutional court with the sole and exclusive power to resolve all legal disputes over the meaning and interpretation of the constitution. One prominent example of such a specialized court is the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), which adjudicates disputes over the German Constitution, called the “Basic Law.” The European model of a constitutional court views courts as more specialized, instead of general, and thus only the constitutional court is capable of addressing constitutional disputes. Lower courts that are faced with a constitutional dispute will refer that case to the specialized constitutional court for decision. In the context of European legal systems, specialized constitutional courts often reflect the fact that courts in general are specialized and usually charged with deciding disputes in certain areas of the law only, such as labor law, administrative law, family law, and the like.

S T R U C T U R E O F T H E C O U RT

Regardless of whether a constitutional court is a specialized tribunal that only adjudicates constitutional disputes, as in the European context, or a generalist court that adjudicates constitutional and nonconstitutional disputes, as in the American context, wide diversity exists in how courts are structured. The U.S. Supreme Court is a good starting point for comparing constitutional courts across political systems.

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The United States. The Supreme Court consists of nine justices, although

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Congress may change the number of justices through a federal statute. All are nominated by the president and appointed with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. Although the Senate’s role in Supreme Court nominations has evolved

statute: a law created by a legislature that is inferior to constitutional law

SECOND SENATE JUDGES CONVENE IN GERMANY’S FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT IN KARLSRUHE, GERMANY. Sixteen judges compose the Bundesverfassungsgericht, or

Federal Constitutional Court, in Karlsruhe, Germany. Its primary purpose is judicial review, meaning it can proclaim public acts unconstitutional. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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■ ■ ■ impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity

Napoleonic Code: French law first established in 1804; it is the first known legal code within a civil legal system maritime: relating to the sea or the coast

since 1789, in the present day those nominated to the Supreme Court are expected to testify before the Senate in public, and the Senate has rejected approximately 25 percent of nominees. Supreme Court justices serve for life “during good behavior” and are only removable through an impeachment process defined in the Constitution. The Court works as a plenary body, meaning that all nine justices generally meet as a collegial group to adjudicate cases. Moreover, the Court has almost complete discretion in deciding which cases to review and which cases to reject. Through its ability to interpret the Bill of Rights, the Court plays a very significant role in defining the rights and liberties of American citizens. Canada. Another North American court, the Canadian Supreme Court, operates similarly to the U.S. Supreme Court. It also has nine justices, all of whom are appointed by the cabinet and prime minister. Canadian Justices serve during good behavior until the age of seventy-five, when they must retire. At least three justices must be from Quebec to ensure that some members of the Court are familiar with Quebec’s legal system based on the Napoleonic Code (Roman law) and the French language. It is also a customary political imperative that the Supreme Court reflect the geographical diversity of Canada, with justices representing the maritime and western provinces as well as Ontario, the most populous province. Historically, geographical representation on the Canadian Court helped unify disparate geographical interests, from Quebec to British Colombia. Like the U.S. Supreme Court, the Canadian Court sits as a plenary body (although it may also sit in panels of five or seven) and decides cases as a group of nine. Similar to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Canadian Court interprets a constitutional bill of rights—the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms— and thus plays a significant role in defining and protecting the rights and liberties of citizens. Germany. The German Federal Constitutional Court stands in distinct contrast

proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised litigate: to bring a disagreement or violation of the law before a judge for a legal decision

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to its North American counterparts. There are sixteen Constitutional Court justices; this number is set by legislation. German justices serve for a twelve-year nonrenewable term, and there is a mandatory retirement age of sixty-eight. Each house of the legislature, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, elects eight justices. The Bundestag, which is based on proportional representation of the German people, votes as a whole, and two-thirds must vote to elect a candidate. The Bundesrat, which represents the German states (Länder), elects justices based on a two-thirds majority vote in its Judicial Selection Committee. Federal and state governments and political parties represented in the Bundestag submit the names of potential justices. Justices must also be at least forty years old and have successfully passed national judicial exams. The German Court meets in two separate senates; thus, all sixteen justices do not sit as a collegial court. Each senate also has a slightly different jurisdiction. Initially, after the Basic Law of 1949 came into effect, the First Senate was assigned the role of reviewing constitutional issues that arose out of ordinary litigation and were referred to the Court by lower courts, and also deciding constitutional complaints filed by individual citizens that alleged a government agency had violated their constitutional rights. The Second Senate, in contrast, was to decide constitutional disputes existing between political branches, such as the parliament and the executive, and between the federal and state levels of government. However, an imbalance in workload quickly developed, and citizens’ constitutional complaints were transferred from the First to the Second Senate in the late 1950s. G O V E R N M E N T S

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The important role of the Constitutional Court in defining the rights and liberties of German citizens under the Basic Law cannot be overemphasized. Since individual citizens can directly access the Court through the “constitutional complaint” procedure, German citizens can ask their Constitutional Court to directly interpret their rights in a way that citizens of no comparable democracy are able to. As long as a private citizen first exhausts all other legal means of recourse against a government agency, that person can file a complaint with the Constitutional Court alleging violation of a constitutional right guaranteed in the Basic Law. Indeed, German citizens view the constitutional complaint procedure as a “prerogative—almost a vested right—of citizenship” (Kommers 1997, p. 14). By allowing citizens to directly petition the Constitutional Court, the Basic Law in essence ensures that the Justices will militantly guard the rights and liberties of the people. South Africa. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa is a

relatively new constitutional court, having started its work of interpreting the new democratic South African Constitution in 1995. The South African Court plays a very active role in resolving constitutional disputes and protecting human rights. In fact, the final South African Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Assembly in 1996, and it also had to be certified by the Constitutional Court in accordance with the basic thirty-four constitutional principles agreed upon by the parties negotiating the transfer of power from white minority rule and the apartheid government to a democratic multiracial government, one in which people of all races would retain the same political and legal rights. Unlike any other constitutional court to date, then, the South African Court determined at the outset whether the Constitution under which it and all other government agencies operated was itself “constitutional” and in agreement with the basic principles of the new South African political system. Eleven justices serve on the South African Court. The president and deputy president of the Court are appointed by the president of the republic, who is required by the Constitution to consult with the Judicial Service Commission and the leaders of political parties in the National Assembly. Other Constitutional Court justices are chosen by the president from a list supplied by the Judicial Service Commission, and again the president is constitutionally required to consult with leaders of political parties and the president of the Constitutional Court. The Judicial Service Commission interviews potential candidates and makes its recommendations to the president based on the candidates’ legal and judicial experience. Justices serve for a twelve-year nonrenewable term and must retire at the age of seventy. The Constitution also requires that the South African judiciary, in general, reflect broadly the racial and gender composition of the South African nation. The South African Constitutional Court has assumed a very active role in defining and protecting the rights of all South Africans. The new Constitution contains a bill of rights, and Article 39 of the Constitution mandates that courts must interpret the document in a way which promotes “the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.” Thus, South African courts, and most important the Constitutional Court, have an explicit constitutional duty to guard the values of a democratic society based on human dignity. Since 1995 the Constitutional Court has been a vigilant protector of human rights in South Africa. It has expanded the rights of criminal defendants, declared the death penalty unconstitutional, expanded the right to privacy of all individuals, and also articulated very strong protections for freedom of expression. G O V E R N M E N T S

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B A S I C L AW O F 1 9 4 9 After World War II ended in 1945 Germany was divided into four zones of occupation. Britain, France, and the United States, in the west, and the U.S.S.R. in the east, each occupied a sector. In 1949, with the Cold War well underway, it became clear that the wartime allies could not agree on a plan to create a unified Germany, and the zones were transformed into two states. The western sectors became the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), better known as West Germany, and the Soviet sector became the German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany. (The city of Berlin was similarly divided.) For West Germany to function as a state it needed a legal charter that would define its character and provide the basic rules for its government. This was provided in the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) of 1949, which became the constitution of the Federal Republic. The law provides for a parliamentary republic with an elected president as a primarily honorary head of state, and gives executive authority over the government to the Bundeskanzler, or federal chancellor, who is the head of the majority party in the Bundestag, or federal parliament. The Basic Law, like most European constitutions, also affords the chancellor some leeway in setting up a cabinet; German chancellors can have any number of cabinet ministers they want. In 1990, when East and West Germany were reunited, the GDR became defunct and was incorporated into the Federal Republic, and the Basic Law was extended to all of Germany.

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See also: Canada; Constitutions and Constitutionalism; Germany; South Africa; United States. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abraham, Henry J. The Judicial Process: An Introductory Analysis of the Courts of the United States, England, and France, 7th ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. Cappelletti, Mauro. The Judicial Process in Comparative Perspective. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1991. Jackson, Vicki C., and Mark Tushnet. Comparative Constitutional Law. New York: Foundation Press, 1999. Kommers, Donald. The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2nd ed. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997. McWhinney, Edward. Supreme Courts and Judicial Lawmaking: Constitutional Tribunals and Constitutional Review. Boston: Kluwer, 1986. Morton, F. L. Law, Politics, and the Judicial Process in Canada, 2nd ed. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2001. Sunstein, Cass R. Designing Democracy: What Constitutions Do. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001.

John C. Blakeman

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■ ■ ■ figurehead: an individual with a title of leadership, but no real authority or power

A constitutional monarchy is a political system headed by a monarch. However, the monarch’s power is not absolute. Instead, the king’s or queen’s powers, rights, duties, and responsibilities in the political system are limited by constitutional rules and principles, statutory laws, court decisions, and even customary rules of political behavior. Limits on the monarch’s powers have generally evolved over time, and the modern monarch in a constitutional monarchy is essentially a figurehead who symbolizes national unity and often serves to rise above partisanship in the political system. There are several constitutional monarchies in the world today. Of the member states of the European Union, seven are constitutional monarchies: Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and Liechtenstein. Japan remains a constitutional monarchy, albeit with a politically weak and largely ceremonial king, and several states in the British Commonwealth of Nations, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, and many of the Pacific Island states, still retain political, social, and legal links with the British monarchy. Smaller states such as Nepal and Cambodia also retain limited monarchies.

G R E A T B R I TA I N

The best example of a constitutional monarchy is that of Great Britain, officially known at the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926), can trace her lineage back to the ninth century. As such, the monarch serves to personify the British state and its history. Government is carried on in the name of the Queen, the “Queen in Parliament” is considered the source of all sovereign political power, and the

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Queen represents the dignified elements of the British constitution that are symbolic, ceremonial, and above partisan politics. The British monarch is hereditary, which means only the monarch’s heirs can become monarchs in the future. The Norman conquest of England in 1066 established the English monarchy that would ultimately rule over all of Britain and Ireland. For approximately six hundred years the English monarchy consolidated its power over England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland and evolved into a powerful office with almost absolute power. Limits on monarchical power were evident, such as the Magna Carta of 1215, but in general the monarch’s rule was unlimited, and the English political system was in no sense a constitutional monarchy. The monarch’s grasp on all political power began to fade in the seventeenth century, however, as the English parliament began to challenge the throne for political supremacy. Indeed, the development and evolution of the modern British constitution is to a large extent the story of how parliament slowly wrested power from the monarch and changed the British political system from one based on royal absolutism to one grounded in parliamentary supremacy.

■ ■ ■ monarchical: of or relating to a monarchy

absolutism: a way of governing, usually monarchic, that reflects complete control and an unwillingness to compromise or deviate from dogma or principles

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was enthroned in 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI, and became Queen Elizabeth II of England. While her years of experience afford her a great amount of international respect, the duties of the British monarch are limited in nature. (SOURCE: ANWAR HUSSEIN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES) QUEEN ELIZABETH II GREETS THE CROWD IN YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND IN 2005.

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The English Civil War of 1642–1649 deposed King Charles I (1600–1649) and created a republican form of government. King Charles II (1635–1685) and the monarchy were reinstated in 1660, and Charles II ruled until 1685 in cooperation with parliament. James II (1633–1701) assumed the throne in 1685, but because of his Catholicism in an increasingly Protestant England he fled in 1688, leaving the throne vacant and creating a constitutional vacuum in which there was no clear source of political power. Parliament invited Prince William of Orange (1650–1702) from Holland to assume the duties of the British king, with his wife Mary (1662–1694), who was also James II’s daughter. Parliament’s calling of William to the throne confirmed its power to regulate not only the succession of British monarchs but also the power of the monarchy itself. In 1707 parliament passed a statute, the Act of Union, that formally joined England, Wales, and Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Part of the statute mandated that all future British monarchs must be Protestant descendents of the Hanover family. By law, no British monarchs can be Catholic; they must be members of the Anglican Church. Statutory law also mandates that male heirs take priority over female heirs in determining succession to the throne. ■ ■ ■ democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives franchise: a right provided by statutory or constitutional law; to give such a right

Throughout the nineteenth century the British monarch’s powers gradually weakened, due in large part to the increasing democratization of the British political system. The electoral franchise was expanded dramatically in the 1830s and again in the 1860s, with the result that parliament became more democratic and assertive. With Irish independence in the early twentieth century the British monarch ceased to rule over the Republic of Ireland but still retained sovereignty over the counties of Ulster, or Northern Ireland. By the twentieth century the monarch’s power was limited to the right to be consulted about public policy, the right to ask questions of the government and to receive information, and the right to warn the government about public policy choices. In fact, consultation, advice, and warnings by the Queen are

■ ■ ■

QUEEN ELIZABETH II (B. 1926) Elizabeth II became the United Kingdom’s queen in 1952 and remains in that position as of 2005. She is the sixth monarch in British history to serve 50 or more years on the throne. Although the queen is formally Britain’s head of state, as a constitutional monarch she has no actual authority over the government. She does, however, maintain ties with the prime minister and keeps apprised of parliamentary proceedings. Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Princess Elizabeth was schooled by private tutors at home alongside her sister, Princess Margaret. As preparation for her future, she studied constitutional history and law and accompanied her father, King George VI (1895–1952) on journeys abroad. During World War II she served in uniform. In 1947 she married Philip Mountbatten (b. 1921), a prince of Greece and Denmark; they had four children.

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Elizabeth captured the public’s imagination during her 1953 coronation, which was broadcast live. She has traveled extensively and continues to enjoy general public respect. However, as the British “culture of deference” has declined, the royal family’s social privilege, expensive government subsidy, and extreme private wealth—the queen is the wealthiest woman in Britain and one of the wealthiest people in the world—have become sensitive issues of public relations. In 1992 the queen agreed to begin paying income taxes, a first for British royalty. Her popularity waned in later years as details of her family’s unpleasant private lives became staples of tabloid journalism, particularly the loveless marriage between her son, Prince Charles, and the highly popular Princess Diana. When Diana died in a car wreck in 1997 the queen’s perceived lack of empathy further angered her British subjects.

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done mainly in private conversations between her and the prime minister, and the Queen’s views on public policy issues are rarely made public. Out of that process of giving and receiving advice the Queen can make her views known to her government. The government, however, has no legal or constitutional obligation to follow or act on this advice. One final convention worth noting is that if the government of the day in parliament (usually the political party with the largest majority in parliament forms the government) loses a vote of no confidence, the Queen is within her power to dismiss that government and call for new elections. Votes of no confidence are very rare in the British political system, and in fact the last government that was dismissed outright by the monarch was in 1783. However, the power to dismiss has been exercised by the Queen through her representatives (i.e., her governors-general) in Commonwealth counties. In 1975 the governorgeneral of Australia dismissed the government of Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam (b. 1916), which fueled agitation in Australia to sever ties with the British monarchy and create a republic outright. Australia has yet to jettison its links with the British Crown, but republic sentiment is growing. Interestingly, the Queen retains authority over Canada through her governor-general, with the implication that the Queen can dismiss a Canadian prime minister or even provincial governor. Queen Elizabeth II found out how precarious her commonwealth position can be in 1987 during a military coup in Fiji. The Queen appealed to the Fijian population to maintain its historic links to the British Crown. The Fijian military government’s response was to sever those links and make Fiji a republic. In the end, the British monarch is mainly a figurehead. To be sure, the Queen transcends partisan politics and, thus, perhaps provides a kind of stability for the political system when partisan rancor threatens to paralyze it. As well, the Queen provides a link with Britain’s history and, as such, may well be a stabilizing influence for the political system. The Queen’s powers are functionally very limited, however, and are largely now ceremonial. Modern British monarchs do not participate in public debates over government policy making, although in private Queen Elizabeth II does have a reputation for suggesting policy outcomes to her government. Modern monarchs do not try to block legislation passed by parliament or refuse to appoint politicians to ministerial positions when advised by the government. In sum, British monarchs do not interfere with the democratic, majoritarian political process and outcomes in parliament; to do so in the twentyfirst century would, more than likely, spell the end of the British monarchy.

■ ■ ■ governor-general: a governor who rules over a large territory and employs deputy governors to oversee subdivided regions

coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

majoritarianism: the practice of rule by a majority vote

THE DUTCH MONARCHY

The Dutch monarchy resembles that of the British in that its role is also mainly ceremonial. The powers of the Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix (b. 1938), are mainly written down in the Dutch constitution, unlike in Britain where many of the Queen’s powers are rooted in unwritten rules of political behavior or conventions. The constitution specifies the rules of monarchical succession, the powers of the monarch in relation to the government, and how parliament appropriates money to support the monarchy. The monarch does appoint government ministers, cosigns acts of parliament with the prime minister, and participates in other political tasks but only on the advice of the democratically elected government. Although the Dutch monarch’s power is limited by explicit constitutional provisions, one important unwritten rule or convention has evolved over the last one hundred years: The monarch plays a very prominent role in how government cabinets are formed. The cabinet is the group of top government ministers, also G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

called the council of ministers, who determine government policy, propose legislation to parliament, make budget and foreign policy decisions, and in general guide the Dutch government’s policymaking. The cabinet is chaired by the prime minister, who is generally the leader of the largest political party in parliament. Because of the Dutch electoral system based on strict proportional representation, several different political parties contest each national election, and there is often there is no clear winner. Because no one political party has an absolute majority of seats in parliament, parties must form coalitions to create a national government. Indeed, after each national election in The Netherlands it may be months before the national government is determined. Establishing which political parties get to form a coalition government involves long, laborious political negotiations among party leaders. Unwritten constitutional rules have evolved so that the Dutch monarch coordinates, organizes, and takes the lead in establishing the new government. After each national election the Queen consults with the speakers of the two houses in parliament, the heads of the political parties in parliament, and the vice president of the Council of State (an advisory body appointed by the Queen). The advice given to the Queen is made public, and acting on that advice, the Queen appoints one politician who investigates the possibilities of forming a government in coalition with other political parties. In organizing the negotiations to form a coalition government the Queen serves not only as one who jumpstarts an often difficult and fractious coalitional governing process but also as a stabilizing presence in the Dutch political system. That is, the monarch provides political continuity and constancy in a somewhat fractious political system. S PA I N ’ S C O N S T I T U T I O N A L M O N A R C H Y

authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

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Another constitutional monarchy shows how the monarch can not only be a stabilizing force in the political system but can also ensure the continuation of democratic governance. In general, monarchies are often considered antidemocratic due to the perpetuation of some political power in a person who serves not at the will of the electorate but because of heredity and birth. Yet, the example of constitutional monarchy in Spain shows how a king can not only lend stability to a political system in crisis but can actually protect democratic governance. The Spanish monarchy, much like the British, evolved over the course of several centuries into a powerful position with unlimited power. At its peak in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the power of the Spanish monarch began to decline throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as Spain itself became economically and politically weaker than Britain and France. Spain’s political system up to the twentieth century was authoritarian and undemocratic, and in 1923, under King Alphonso XIII (1886–1941), a military dictatorship was established led by General Primo de Rivera (1870–1930). De Rivera’s government collapsed in 1930, and the following year the Spanish Republic was created and the monarchy was outlawed by parliament; the king fled the country. The Spanish Republic was short-lived, however, as a rebellion of the Spanish army plunged Spain into a bloody and brutal civil war that lasted from 1936 to 1939. General Francisco Franco (1892–1975) headed the rebellious troops who defeated Republican forces and established a repressive dictatorship that lasted until the 1970s. Prior to his death in 1975, Franco set in motion a plan in which power would transfer from him, as dictator, to his handpicked successor, Prince Juan Carlos (b. 1938). The monarchy did not exist in Franco’s G O V E R N M E N T S

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Q U E E N B E AT R I X ( B . 1 9 3 8 ) Since becoming monarch of The Netherlands in 1980, Queen Beatrix has played a significant role in shaping Dutch policy. Most constitutional monarchs have no actual power, but The Netherlands is an exception. Under the constitution Queen Beatrix is allowed to serve as chair of the Council of State, the country’s highest government advisory board. Described as regal but level-headed, Queen Beatrix generally outscores her nation’s politicians in popularity polls. When she speaks, people listen. For example, in the mid-1990s Queen Beatrix used her power to oust a Dutch ambassador to South Africa over an alleged extramarital affair.

Queen Beatrix has not always enjoyed such liberal support, however. In 1966 she married the German-born Prince Claus von Amsberg (1926–2002). The union created a furor in The Netherlands, a country that had been invaded and brutally occupied by German forces during World War II (1939–1945). Like many young German men, Prince Claus had been a member of the Hitler Youth. Over the years, however, Prince Claus became a much-loved member of the royal family. He learned to speak Dutch and in 1967, with Queen Beatrix, gave the country its first male heir in almost a century: Prince Willem-Alexander.

dictatorship, but France maintained a relationship with the royal family and, in fact, groomed Juan Carlos for several years to become head of state and new king of Spain. Juan Carlos became king on Franco’s death and set in motion a chain of events that would lead to democratic government in Spain. Several political forces emerged after Franco, some of which advocated democracy, others of which demanded a perpetuation of Francoist and repressive government. A general election was held in 1977 with free participation by all political parties (which was not allowed under Franco), and in 1978 a new Spanish constitution was written that established a constitutional monarchy premised on democratic government. However, the new Spanish democracy was very fragile. In February 1981 several Spanish generals initiated a coup, or military takeover, of the national government. Army regiments seized the Spanish parliament building and held members of parliament hostage in an attempt to stop Spain’s transition to democracy. King Juan Carlos could either publicly support the military coup, thus ending Spanish democracy for the foreseeable future, or he could use his personal prestige and influence to support democratic governance and stop Spain’s slide into repression. Moreover, the king could use his office to prevent what could become a very bloody conflict between the military and pro-democracy forces. King Juan Carlos immediately sided with the pro-democracy forces. On the night of the coup he addressed the Spanish nation to indicate his support for the democratic political process and his vehement opposition to the coup. He made personal appeals to several Spanish military regiments that were not part of the initial rebellion and requested that they remain in their barracks and not take to the streets to support the coup or to quell pro-democracy supporters. Perhaps most effectively, Juan Carlos made it known to the Spanish military that he would lay down his life to stop the coup. Thus, the coup’s success depended on the forcible removal of the Spanish king. Using his personal prestige as king and head of state, Juan Carlos solidified democratic government in Spain, at the same time strengthening his role as Spain’s constitutional monarch. Although the Spanish king is much the figurehead with little political power, similar to Queen Elizabeth II in Britain and Queen Beatrix in The Netherlands, King Juan Carlos retains a high level of support among the Spanish public due to his defense of democracy. G O V E R N M E N T S

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See also: Constitutions and Constitutionalism; Magna Carta; Netherlands, The; Spain; United Kingdom. BIBLIOGRAPHY Greenberg, Douglas, Stanley N. Katz, Melanie Beth Oliviero, and Steven C. Wheatley. Constitutionalism and Democracy: Transitions in the Contemporary World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Heard, Andrew. Canadian Constitutional Conventions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Kortman, Constantijn A.J.M., and Paul P.T. Bovend’Eert. Dutch Constitutional Law. Boston: Kluwer Law, 2000. Marshal, Geoffrey. Constitutional Conventions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. O’Donnell, Guillermo, Philippe C. Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Southern Europe. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. Smith, S.A. de, and Rodney Brazier. Constitutional and Administrative Law. 6th ed. London: Penguin, 1989.

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■ ■ ■ infringe: to exceed the limits of; to violate statute: a law created by a legislature that is inferior to constitutional law

Constitutionalism is the idea that government should be limited through established procedures or laws and that governmental authority depends on its willingness to observe these limitations. The modern term derives from the Latin word constitutio, which means “establishment” or “ordinance” of the emperor. As a political or legal doctrine, constitutionalism refers to a government that is devoted first to the establishment of law and order within society, and second to the control of government within that order, especially as it pertains to the protection of basic individual rights. It is meant to solve the problem of anarchy on the one hand and tyranny on the other within a single and coherent constitutional structure. Most constitutional governments have a charter or “constitution” that derives its authority from the people. A constitution consists of a set of rules or norms that imposes limits on government power. It organizes various branches of government, establishes the balance among them, and sets the limits of power by guaranteeing certain fundamental rights against infringement. A constitution is unique because it is usually difficult to change. Whereas legislative enactments can be modified simply by passing another statute, constitutional amendments typically, although not always, involve surmounting a more difficult procedural hurdle. In sum, a constitution establishes a framework for the state as a legal entity.

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L I S M : I N T E L L E C T UA L F O U N D A T I O N S

The concept of a constitution as a framework for states goes back to ancient times, but the idea of constitutionalism emerged during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the theories and contributions of English political theorists Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and John Locke (1632–1704), French philosophers Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), and the framers of the American Constitution.

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In the English tradition, constitutionalism is rooted in the belief that individuals are rational beings driven by reason and self-interest to maximize their prosperity and happiness in life. In 1651, Hobbes argued in his seminal work Leviathan that a brutish “state of nature,” in which humans act to better their position at the expense of others, is an impediment to the pursuit of prosperity and happiness, and that governments should be formed to prevent people from infringing on the rights and interests of others. Hobbes believed that because humans were basically selfish creatures, the best system of government was a system ruled by an all-powerful kingly figure, or leviathan. Hobbes’s call for an all-powerful king reinforced the position of the Stuart monarchy at the time, which claimed the throne of England on the basis of divine-right absolutism. During the English Civil War of 1689, the English army and parliament destroyed the Stuart quest for divine-right absolutism. Locke, who observed this war, rejected the notion of divine right by which kings and queens justified their right to rule. Instead, he argued that governments should only operate with the consent of the people they govern. Locke’s belief in popular consent, however, was not without qualification. As a precursor to what would become known as the “separation of powers” principle, he argued that governmental power should be divided equally into three branches so that politicians would not be tempted to seek absolute power. He also argued that the purpose of government was to protect individual rights such as the rights to life, freedom, and property. These individual rights were absolute and guaranteed to all people. If any government abused these rights, the people would have the right to rebel and form a new government. Locke’s notion of individual rights would later become the basis for the enumeration of the “rights of man” in the English Bill of Rights, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789, and the American Bill of Rights of 1791. The French philosophers of the eighteenth century, Montesquieu and Rousseau, expanded on Locke’s constitutional ideas. Montesquieu was raised during the reign of Louis XIV (1638–1715), who had attempted to assert absolute authority over all aspects of French life. In his Spirit of the Laws published in 1748, Montesquieu argued that to protect the liberties of the nation and the inviolability of the law, autonomous judicial bodies must possess independent powers to impede the natural despotic tendencies of an absolute monarchy. He advocated a division of government—a separation of powers—to serve as a bulwark against the abusive tendencies of the state. This call for a separation of powers helped to lay the foundation for the French Revolution of 1789 and constitutionalism in France. Rousseau was one of the first modern writers to question the assumption that the will of the majority is always correct. He argued that the goal of government should be to secure freedom, equality, and justice for all within the state, regardless of the will of the majority. In “The Social Contract,” he wrote:

■ ■ ■ seminal: original; at the basis of

absolutism: a way of governing, usually monarchic, that reflects complete control and an unwillingness to compromise or deviate from dogma or principles

■ ■ ■ FAST FACTS The divine-right theory held that kings were representatives of God. Monarchs were to be obeyed in all matters; any resistance was sinful.

despot: a ruler who does not govern in the interest of those governed

The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before. (Rousseau 1762/1960, p. 149)

The “social contract” reflects an understanding of the importance of individual rights within a society and the role of the state in protecting these rights. Across the Atlantic, the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers were at the heart of the American independence movement. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) G O V E R N M E N T S

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and James Madison (1751–1836) drew on their ideas to sever ties with England and to establish the New Republic. The U.S. Constitution emanates from the social contract tradition and is based on the liberal democratic idea that the people should rule by consent (i.e., popular sovereignty) and that federal power should be limited. In the American system, the constitution is supreme, and the three branches of government (the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary) are creatures of that constitution. For this reason, the government of the United States is called a constitutional democracy. The system of checks and balances in the United States is designed to prevent too much power from being concentrated in one branch of government. As Madison explained in The Federalist Papers: Unless these departments be so far connected and blended as to give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of separation which the maxim (of separation or power) requires, as essential to a free government, can never in practice be duly maintained. (Hamilton, Madison, and Jay 1787–88/ 1996, No. 48) ■ ■ ■ judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution

The judiciary has the authority to interpret the constitution and review the acts of the legislature or executive branch (through the power of judicial review) to ensure compliance with its provisions. In the U.S. federal system, judicial review also includes the power of federal judges to review the acts of the various state governments to ensure compliance with the constitution and other federal laws.

C O N S T I T U T I O N A L I S M A N D I N D I V I D UA L R I G H T S

natural right: a basic privilege intrinsic to all people that cannot be denied by the government precedent: an established ruling, understanding, or practice of the law

inalienable right: a right that cannot be taken away ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

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In conjunction with the government’s role of establishing law and order within society, self-enforcing restraints must exist on the exercise of government power in order to protect basic individual rights (i.e., civil and human rights). An important distinction is drawn between civil rights and human rights. Civil rights are constitutional restraints on government, guaranteed by a constitution and protected by the courts domestically. Human rights are international standards of treatment of individuals and groups defined principally in the International Bill of Human Rights, consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 and the two international covenants of 1966 (i.e., the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Civil and human rights may arise directly from natural rights or indirectly through political arrangements between the state and society provided for in constitutions, statutes, or common-law precedents. Enlightenment thinkers, such as Locke and Rousseau, were early advocates of basic civil and human rights, recognizing that an orderly society can thrive only under some form of government that protect its subjects from the tendency of the ruling class toward tyranny and abuse. The American founding fathers were influenced by the notion of individual rights and gave such rights a high priority at the birth of the New Republic. The Declaration of Independence asserts that certain inalienable rights are inherent in all people by virtue of their being human and that no government should take these rights away. The U.S. Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791 as the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, places certain fundamental rights beyond the reach of government power, including the freedoms of speech, assembly, and the press, as well as the right to worship freely and not be subject to the establishment of religion by the government. Moreover, the U.S. Bill of Rights provides individuals accused of a crime with basic protections, including the right to due process of law, the right to a fair trial, freedom from self-incrimination, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to not be tried twice for the same crime. G O V E R N M E N T S

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AFGHAN LEGISLATORS DISCUSS A DRAFT OF THE COUNTRY’S NEW CONSTITUTION IN JANUARY 2004 IN KABUL. The removal of the Taliban from power in 2001 resulted in a revamped political landscape anchored by newly-elected president, Hamid Karzai, and a bicameral parliament that is comprised of the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) and the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). (SOURCE: SHAH MARAI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

These basic freedoms have been expanded over the years to ban slavery, guarantee the right of women and African Americans to vote, and ensure equal protection under the law to all citizens, among other guarantees.

MODERN CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMS

The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of constitutional governments in the United States and France, and these countries, in turn, served as models for the establishment of constitutional systems throughout Europe and the world. In the early twenty-first century, most liberal democracies operated under a constitutional system of government that provided for multiple separate branches of government, set limits on power, and guaranteed protection for basic rights and liberties. In the United Kingdom, constitutionalism was ushered in gradually over the centuries. The United Kingdom has no formal written constitution. The British constitutional system is embodied in a number of documents with constitutional force, including the Magna Carta (1215), the Bill of Rights (1689), the Act of Settlement (1701), the Act of Union between Scotland and England (1707), and certain acts of parliament. G O V E R N M E N T S

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The United Kingdom uses the Westminster system of constitutionalism. Under this system, the sovereign is the head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories and is ceremonially the source of all executive, judicial, and legislative power. Although the sovereign plays an important ceremonial role, in practice the prime minister, who is selected by parliament, serves as the chief of government and effective leader of the executive branch through a set of cabinet ministers, referred to as the “government.”

■ ■ ■ bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body

■ ■ ■

D E C L A R AT I O N O F T H E RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN The French monarchy was overthrown during the French Revolution (1789–1799) and France’s new National Constituent Assembly adopted the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen (Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen) in August 1789. These seventeen articles were also used as the preamble to the French constitution of 1791. The declaration was derived from the idea that freedom and equality are assumed at birth for every man. The document specified these as the rights to liberty, private property, and resistance to oppression. In addition it stated that citizens could not be arrested without a judicial order, and it granted freedoms of religion and speech. The document also opened offices and government positions to the middle class. These ideas remained central to many constitutions in the twenty-first century.

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The parliament is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom. Parliament evolved from the ancient council that advised the sovereign. The parliament includes an upper house (House of Lords), which is an unelected body, and a lower house (House of Commons), which consists of an elected body that is the dominant lawmaking body of the bicameral structure. The supremacy of the House of Commons was established during the twentieth century. The British Parliament is often called the “mother of parliaments” because the legislative bodies of many nations including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others are modeled after it. Although it lacks the power to challenge the actions of the branches of the government on constitutional grounds, the judiciary of the United Kingdom acts independently of them, even though the highest court is actually a committee of the House of Lords. The Federal Republic of Germany also follows a constitutional model of governance. The German constitution signed in 1949 is called the Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The Basic Law establishes the federal government’s structure and permits the states to create their own legal systems. Similar to other constitutional systems, the German constitutional system is guided by the separation of powers principle. Federal power is vested in two bodies: the federal parliament (Bundestag) and the federal council (Bundesrat). The Bundestag, which derives its authority from the people, enacts legislation, controls the budget, and selects the chancellor. The chancellor, unlike the president whose power is limited, is responsible for developing national policies and executing the law. The Bundesrat consists of representatives from the sixteen German states, or Länder, who participate in federal legislation and are subject to instructions from their respective states. The federal judiciary makes up the third branch of government and acts a check on the other branches. The highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court, adjudicates issues of national constitutional law and serves as the guardian of the Basic Law and protector of individual rights. Like the U.S. Bill of Rights, Articles 1 through 20 of the Basic Law enumerate certain fundamental rights for German citizens. Article 3, for instance, guarantees equal protection of the law for men and women. The right to resist any attempt to abolish the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 1 through 20 is also guaranteed to all German citizens. After the 1992 Maastricht Treaty was signed (which led to the creation of the European Union, or EU), the German parliament rewrote the Basic Law to permit the transfer of sovereignty, excluding Articles 1 through 20, to the EU. Italy also operates under a constitutional form of governance. Italy’s supreme law is found in its constitution, which consists of 139 articles. The Italian federal structure consists of a bicameral parliament, a president, and a Constitutional Court. The parliament is an elected body responsible for passing legislation and electing the president, who serves a seven-year term. To prevent the concentration of power in the presidency or the parliament and to ensure that these branches of government do not abuse their authority,

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Article 104 of the constitution guarantees the institutional independence of the judiciary. In addition to providing for the separation of powers among the three branches of government, the Italian constitution also places a heavy emphasis on the inviolability of basic individual rights and imposes restraints on the exercise of government power to protect these rights. For example, unlike other constitutions, the Italian constitution guarantees in Article 24 “the right to a judicial defense.” Article 27 of the constitution also prohibits the death penalty except in cases under military law during wartime. Reforms and changes to the Italian constitution made during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have provided Italian citizens with strengthened protections for basic rights. The establishment of the EU changed the nature of constitutionalism in Europe and the structure of national legal systems. The submission of the state to the new EU authority requires that EU law prevail over national law in the sphere of EU competence. The supremacy of this new transnational law substantially modifies the formal subordination of governments to their respective parliaments. It also transforms national judges into EU judges who must now apply the new transnational EU law in their capacity as national judges. The main implication of this change in terms of civil and human rights is to allow national judges to escape the binding force of fundamental rights as defined in their national constitutions. Finally, written constitutions are not exclusive to democratic nations, although it may be that the practice of constitutionalism as a truly limited form of government is found only in democracies. In the People’s Republic of China, for example, a written constitution sets forth the rules and norms by which the government and the people are to coexist. Structurally, in the Chinese constitutional system, three separate branches of government exist: the National People’s Congress (NPC; legislative branch), the State Council (executive branch), and the People’s Court (judicial branch). The NPC, China’s national legislature, has exclusive power to amend, modify, and interpret the national constitution. However, no system of checks and balances or judicial review exists under the Chinese constitutional system. The NPC is the most powerful branch of government, and decision-making is controlled primarily by this body. Moreover, China’s constitution provides few guarantees for basic civil and human rights, and China’s record in this area has been poor.

■ ■ ■ transnational: extending beyond the jurisdiction of one single nation

C O N C LU S I O N

Constitutionalism both empowers and limits the authority of government. It provides a framework to establish and maintain law and order within society, and it constrains the arbitrary exercise of government power by protecting individual rights. Most liberal constitutional democracies have adopted the separation-of-powers principle and have written constitutions that organize the various branches of government and limit federal power by guaranteeing certain fundamental rights against infringement. Although not all constitutional governments are democratic, most are rooted in democratic principles. All existing constitutional systems have developed in the wake of the American constitutional experiment, which is based on the oldest living constitution in the world. The ultimate purpose of government under the American model of constitutionalism is to limit power through the rule of law and secure the individual rights of all people.

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arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

rule of law: the principle that the law is a final grounds of decision-making and applies equally to all people; law and order

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See also: Bill of Rights; Constitutional Monarchy; European Union; Germany; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Italy; Judicial Review; United Kingdom; United States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ackerman, Bruce. We the People: Vol. 1. Foundations. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1991. Bradford, M. E. Original Intentions. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1993. Corwin, Edward D. The Higher Law Background of American Constitutional Law. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990. Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers (1788). London: Everyman, 1996. Holmes, Stephen. Passion and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Schweber, Howard. “Constitutionalism.” Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social and Cultural Encyclopedia, ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Mount, Ferdinand. The British Constitution Now. London: Heinemann, 1992. Rosenbaum, Alan S., ed. Constitutionalism: The Philosophical Dimension. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “The Social Contract.” In Les Philosophes: The French Philosophers of the Enlightenment and Modern Democracy (1762), ed. Norman L. Torrey. New York: Perigee Books, 1960.

Klint Alexander

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ■ ■ ■ ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

tribunal: a type of court of law, usually military in nature

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The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on December 10, 1984. It entered into force on June 26, 1987, following the twentieth accession or ratification by a state party. As of 2005, there were 138 state parties to the Convention. The United States ratified it on October 21, 1994, but with a proviso that nothing in CAT would require or authorize legislation or other action by the United States that is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the United States. Further, upon signing CAT in 1988, the United States expressed a number of reservations, the broadest being that the Convention’s definition of “cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment” must be consistent with interpretations of the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Another reservation specifically reserved the right of the United States to apply the death penalty in a manner consistent with its Constitution. Despite the reservations claimed by the United States, the relevance of this convention to other international obligations concerning interrogations (such as the Geneva Conventions) has been demonstrated by the harsh treatment of prisoners taken under the U.S. authority in Afghanistan and Iraq during the early 2000s. While it seems unlikely that U.S. military personnel will be prosecuted before an international tribunal, the negative political fallout has been substantial. G O V E R N M E N T S

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FILIPINO INMATES ENDURE CONGESTED PRISON CONDITIONS IN MANILA, PHILIPPINES IN 2003. While

overcrowded prisons do not always denote the occurrence of inhumane treatment, it is of concern for the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) since it established minimum housing standards for prisoners. (SOURCE: MIKE ALQUINTO/EPA/LANDOV)

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has undertaken its own investigation and prosecution of those responsible for mistreating prisoners. Article 17 of the Convention mandates a ten-member Committee Against Torture; the Committee held its first session in January 1988. The Committee examines the reports of individual state parties, who are required to provide these reports every four years. An Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture was adopted on December 18, 2002, by the General Assembly. It calls for the regular inspections of detention facilities of every country adhering to the protocol. The United States opposed the Optional Protocol because it feared that the protocol would authorize visits to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where prisoners of war from Afghanistan and suspected al Qaeda terrorists from a number of countries were being held. Further, American officials had some concern that the application of CAT might limit the interrogation techniques that had allegedly been authorized by the U.S. government. The CAT defines torture as [A]ny act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a

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■ ■ ■

W H AT C O N S T I T U T E S T O R T U R E ? The text of the Convention Against Torture (CAT) does not mention any specific forms of torture. Moreover, some experts have noted that the CAT’s definition of torture as “severe pain or suffering” is flexible; it implies that there are levels of physical or psychological discomfort that are not severe enough to be considered torture. The international debate in the early 2000s centered on several specific practices that were first used by the United Kingdom in interrogating suspected Irish terrorists and discussed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 1978. Known as the “five techniques,” they are: 1. hooding 2. wall-standing 3. deprivation of sleep

4. deprivation of food or drink 5. subjecting to noise Other ECHR documents mention the practices of threatening prisoners with dogs and keeping them naked for long periods of time. Also called sensory deprivation, disorientation, or “stress and duress,” these five techniques were described by the ECHR as “not occasion[ing] suffering of the particular intensity and cruelty implied by the word torture” but as “amount[ing] to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment” (Ireland v. United Kingdom, 1978). The ECHR’s distinction, however, is not accepted by all governments that have signed the CAT. In addition, some human-rights advocates regard it as a meaningless distinction.

third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent of acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

State parties to CAT are under a general obligation to take effective measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under their jurisdictions, and each state party has a specific obligation under the treaty to “ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by competent authorities” (Article One). Under Article 22 of CAT, state parties may declare at any time their recognition of the authority of the Committee Against Torture to receive and consider individual complaints. The United States has not yet recognized this authority. Regional conventions have also been created to prevent torture. One such example is the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, which has its own monitoring committee. See also: Crimes Against Humanity; War Crimes. BIBLIOGRAPHY Evans, Malcolm D., and Rod Morgan. Preventing Torture. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1998. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. ⬍http://www.unhchr.ch/html/ menu3/b/h_cat39.htm⬎. Peters, Edward. Torture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.

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Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The call for a convention respecting the rights of women emerged from the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975. The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1979 and entered into force in 1981. It is often described as an international bill of rights for women. The Convention describes discrimination against women as [Any] distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. (Article 1)

KURDISH WOMEN RALLY IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. An annual worldwide event since 1909, International Women’s Day marks women’s struggles for equality. In some regions of Turkey, women still suffer such brutalities as “honor killings” and “virginity testing” despite legislative advances made since the country joined the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1985. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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■ ■ ■ ratify: to make official or to officially sanction

signatory: one who signs an agreement with other parties and is then bound to that agreement

By ratifying the Convention, state parties agree to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal systems, to establish institutions that ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination, and to ensure the elimination of acts of discrimination against women by “persons, organizations and enterprises.” The CEDAW established the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women as the working body responsible for its implementation. The Committee receives reports from state parties. The Optional Protocol (1999), which had seventy-five signatories and sixty adhering state parties in 2005, allows individual complaints to be filed with the Committee. Even in the case of adherence to the Optional Protocol, the Convention grants no power to the UN to enforce its provisions. By early 2005, 180 countries (of 191 members of the UN) were parties to the Convention, including all the principal European allies of the United States. Although the United States was an active participant in the drafting of the Convention and U.S. President Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) signed it on July 17, 1980, the United States has yet to become a state party. At the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, U.S. representatives made a commitment to ratify CEDAW. In 2002 the U.S. State Department notified the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States should ratify the CEDAW, but the administration has since backed away from that position. Just prior to a June 2002 hearing on the treaty, President George W. Bush (b. 1946) notified Senator Joseph Biden (b. 1942), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he had returned CEDAW to the Justice Department for further review. Nonetheless, CEDAW received a favorable review by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July 2002, although by 2005 it had not progressed any further in the ratification process. Opponents of CEDAW argue that ratification might jeopardize traditional family values. Some have also expressed concern that it might promote abortions.

nation-state: a relatively homogeneous state with only one or few nationalities within its political borders

In not moving forward on CEDAW, the United States finds itself in the same group of nation-states as Iran, Qatar, Somalia, and Sudan, most of which are not known for their equal treatment of women. In 2005 the United States was the only economically advanced nation not a party to the Convention. See also: Equal Protection of the Law; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Right to Privacy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Campaign for UN Reform. ⬍http://www/cunr.org/priorities/CEDAW.htm⬎. Steiner, Henry J., and Philip Alston. International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 2000. United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. ⬍http://www.un.org/ womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm⬎.

Donald W. Jackson

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Convention on the Rights of the Child See International Human Rights Law.

Costa Rica Costa Rica is situated in the Central American isthmus and borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the southwest. It has extensive coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica, the third smallest country in Central America, has a landmass of approximately 51,000 square kilometers (19,714 square miles), which makes it slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia, yet it has a population of almost 4 million. The population is largely mestizo (mix of Indian and European ancestry); other ethnic groups include West Indians and Chinese. A very small indigenous population also exists. Over 90 percent of the population is Catholic, which is the state religion (although the constitution does guarantee freedom of religion), but membership in Protestant evangelical churches continues to grow. The country has a tropical climate that varies from rain and cloud forests to arid regions. Approximately 73 percent of its total landmass is hills, mountains, and intermontane valleys. Costa Rica experiences occasional earthquakes, hurricanes, and frequent flooding, and has a number of active volcanoes.

■ ■ ■ indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

S O C I O E C O N O M I C C O N D I T I O N S A N D Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E

Compared to other Central American countries, Costa Rica is a glowing political, social, and economic success story. It has been a democratic country since 1949 and its socioeconomic conditions are significantly higher than in any other country in the region. For example, life expectancy in Costa Rica is 78 years compared to 74 for Panama, 70 for El Salvador, 69 in Nicaragua, 65 in Guatemala, and 69 in Honduras. The United Nations (UN) relies on a composite index, the Human Development Index (HDI), to compare development levels across countries. With this index Costa Rica stands out even further from its sister republics in Central America. In 2001 Costa Rica ranked 42nd in the world in terms of its HDI. The next highest countries in Central America were Panama at 59th, Belize at 67th, and El Salvador at 105th, with the remaining nations positioned between 115th and 121st. The Costa Rican economy is stable. It is based primarily on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. The agricultural sector contributes 9 percent to the gross national product (GNP) and employs 20 percent of the active labor force; the respective percentages for industry and services are 30 and 61 percent of the GNP, and 22 and 58 percent of the labor force. In 2001 Costa Rica’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was U.S.$9,500 per capita purchasing power parity (PPP, an index that allows comparisons to be made across countries by calculating the purchasing power of a U.S. dollar in each specific country). Nearly 21 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, which is considerably lower than in neighboring countries. The unemployment rate and inflation are low at approximately 6 and 9 percent.

socioeconomic: relating to the traits of income, class, and education

republic: a form of democratic government in which decisions are made by elected representatives of the people

per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

BRIEF HISTORY

Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) encountered Costa Rica on his fourth and final voyage to the Americas. The area was named Costa Rica, the “rich coast,” because he believed large deposits of gold and indigenous labor existed

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in the region. Columbus was mistaken on both counts, and Costa Rica became a colonial backwater with few Spaniards settling in the area. At the time of its independence in the early nineteenth century, Costa Rica was the poorest area of the Central American isthmus. After independence Costa Rica became part of the short-lived Mexican empire and the subsequent Central American Federation (CAF). With the complete collapse of CAF in 1838, Costa Rica became a fully independent state, but contrary to national myths, its political life was characterized by a series of violent struggles between liberals and conservatives for control of the state. Indeed, between 1824 and 1889, 44 percent of the period occurred under military rule, with civilian presidential terms surviving an average of 1.5 years. The subsequent period 1889 through 1920 saw a significant improvement in democratic governance, although there were still periods of military rule. In the early nineteenth century German immigrants, with significant help from the Costa Rican government, introduced and developed a coffee industry, the first in the region. By the end of that century coffee accounted for more than 90 percent of the country’s exports and made Costa Rica the wealthiest country in the region in per capita terms. A side effect of enhancing the country’s infrastructure to facilitate the development of the coffee industry was the creation of a significant banana export sector. Coffee was grown on the central plateau, a long way from the east coast ports, which were used to ship it to European markets. The government sponsored the building of a railroad system in the 1870s to link the coffee-growing areas with the important east coast ports. Railroad builders, in an attempt to defray the railroad’s construction costs, grew bananas on land granted to them by the government. As a result, Costa Rica’s second important export industry was created. The elections of 1889 marked the first time that an opposition candidate successfully won control of the presidency. Although this event appeared to herald the start of Costa Rica’s democratic period, it is not until the twentieth century that the ballot box became the common means of selecting presidents. The electoral fraud that characterized the 1940s eventually led to a short, bloody civil war in 1948. This war marked the last time force was used in the country’s

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political life; every subsequent president and congressional deputy have been popularly elected in open, free elections and served out their terms in office. See Table 1 for a listing of presidents or heads of state from 1940 until 2006.

■ ■ ■ deputy: one who has been given authority by another to act in that person’s absence

Pre– and post–civil war political life has been heavily influenced by the two politically important families of Calderon and Figueres. The two senior members of these families defined the two sides of the civil war and the party system in the postwar democratic period. It has been argued that the partisan loyalty of Costa Ricans was tied to these two leaders and their political parties. This loyalty remained very strong until the end of their two sons’ administrations (1990–1994 and 1994–1998). One other major player in Costa Rican politics is former President Oscar Arias Sánchez (b. 1941) of the Partido Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Party, PLN). As president between 1986 and 1990, he was instrumental in bringing an end to many of the rebellions and civil wars in other parts of Central America, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. In 2003 he had a constitutional amendment overturned by the Supreme Court to allow former presidents to seek reelection, a move that enhances the power of all future presidents considerably. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT

After a very brief civil war in 1948, a new constitution was written in 1949 that deliberately divided power among four branches of government: the executive, the legislature (the Legislative Assembly), the judicial branch (headed by a Supreme Court), and an electoral agency (the Supreme Elections Tribunal). The result was the creation of one of the weakest presidencies in Latin America. Because the Supreme Court played only a marginal role, the Legislative Assembly was the dominant policy-making body from 1948 to the end of the 1980s. In the 1980s a new branch of the Supreme Court created an effective counterbalance to the Legislative Assembly. TA B L E 1 Costa Rican Heads of State, 1940 to 2006 Date of term 1940–1944 1944–1948 May 1948–November 1949* 1949–November 1953† 1953–May 1958 1958–1962 1962–1966 1966–1970 1970–1974 1974–1978 1978–1982 1982–1986 1986–1990 1990–1994 1994–1998 1998–2002 2002–2006

President/Head of State

Party

Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia Teodoro Picado Michalski José Figueres Ferrer Otilio Ulate Blanco José Figueres Ferrer Mario Echandi Jiménez Francisco J. Orlich Bolmarcich José Joaquín Trejos Fernández José Figueres Ferrer Daniel Oduber Quirós Rodrigo Carazo Odio Luís Alberto Monge Alvarez Oscar Arias Sánchez Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier José María Figueres Olsen Miguel Angel Rodríguez Abel Pacheco

Partido Reformista Partido Reformista Junta Partido Unión Nacional (PUN) Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) PUN PLN Partido Unificación Nacional PLN PLN Partido Unidad PLN PLN Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) PLN PUSC PUSC

*Figure was not elected and used the title of Director de la Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República rather than president. † Otilio Ulate, the presumed winner of the 1948 election, eventually governed as president from November 1949 to November 1953, as agreed to in the Ulate-Figueres Pact of 1948. SOURCE: Adapted

from Bruce M. Wilson, Costa Rica: Politics, Economics, and Democracy, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner,1998; and Bruce M. Wilson, “The Elections in Costa Rica, February and April 2002,” Electoral Studies 22, no. 3 (2003): 509-516.

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DIVISION OF POWERS

neutrality: the quality of not taking sides, as in a conflict

Costa Rica is a republic with a constitutionally mandated separation of powers between four branches of government. The executive is comprised of a president and two vice presidents. The single-chamber congress, or Legislative Assembly, has fifty-seven members; they are elected at the same time as the president and two vice presidents, on the first Tuesday of February every four years. Deputies can seek reelection only four years after they have finished serving their first term in office. Very few deputies are ever reelected; congress is usually composed of more than 80 percent freshmen deputies. Because of the role played by electoral fraud in the country’s short, bloody civil war in 1948, a fourth branch of the state exists to control all aspects relating to elections, the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (Supreme Elections Tribunal, TSE). This branch is responsible for drafting election-related laws and maintaining the official records of voter registration, marriages, births, and deaths. In the months before and after elections, the TSE takes control of the country’s security forces, including the police and the Rural and Civil Guard. To guarantee the political neutrality of this body, its magistrates are elected to eight-year renewable terms by the justices of the Supreme Court.

magistrate: an official with authority over a government, usually a judicial official with limited jurisdiction over criminal cases

R O L E O F T H E L E G I S L AT U R E

■ ■ ■

proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

The Legislative Assembly is the single most important law-making body in Costa Rica; the president has only weak veto powers. Until the late 1980s the Supreme Court accepted the vast majority of laws passed by the congress as constitutional. The congress has a very high rate of turnover as a result of the prohibition on the immediate reelection of sitting deputies. A system of proportional representation is used to elect members of the congress from seven large, multimember constituencies. The largest block of deputies represents the district that includes the capital city, San José, which is the most densely populated area of the country. ROLE OF THE BUREAUCR ACY

bureaucracy: a system of administrating government involving professional labor; the mass of individuals administering government

Costa Rica enjoys a professional bureaucracy, with very few positions determined by patronage. After the 1948 civil war the bureaucracy became increasingly important as the state’s role in managing the economy grew. As in many Latin American countries, Costa Rica uses semiautonomous government agencies (independent institutions) to carry out various functions, from providing electricity and insurance to health care and education. Many of these functions are constitutionally mandated. As the economy grew, the number of agencies expanded, as did the number of bureaucrats needed to run them. ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

From 1949 to 1989 the Supreme Court had seventeen magistrates who sat in one of three chambers. After the constitutional reform of 1989, a new branch of the Supreme Court was created, Sala IV. It has been so active in the country’s political and social life that commentators talk of a “judicial revolution” having taken place. The new chamber has ruled on almost every aspect of the constitution. As in other Latin American countries, Costa Rica’s Supreme Court was effectively dormant and an insignificant institution in the country’s political life. Since 1989, however, the courts, especially Sala IV, have become involved in virtually every aspect of the country’s political life, ranging from economic issues such as privatization to protecting individual rights.

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C I T I Z E N PA R T I C I PA T I O N , R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S , F R E E D O M S , R I G H T S , A N D L I B E RT I E S

The constitution of 1949 grants citizens extensive freedoms, rights, and liberties (Articles 20–74). The ability of citizens to enforce these rights was enhanced with the aforementioned creation of Sala IV. It has taken a very broad view of these rights and has actively sought to protect them from governmental interference. For example, in 1997 Sala IV ruled against the agency responsible for health care and demanded that the Costa Rican government pay for antiretroviral medication for all people living with HIV or AIDS. This decision was based on the constitutional principle of the “right to life” (Article 21). M I L I TA R Y

With the signing of the 1949 constitution, Costa Rica became the first country in Latin America to disband and proscribe the existence of a standing army (Article 12). In place of a standing military force, the country has a small lightly equipped Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and a Rural Guard (Guardia Rural). Their small size and lack of a professional officer corps effectively remove these military forces from the political life of the country. P O L I T I C A L PA R T I E S A N D I N T E R E S T G R O U P S

Political parties and interest groups are well established and play full roles in the country’s political life. Since the end of the 1948 civil war two major parties have existed: the PLN and the Partido Union Social Cristiana (United Social Christian Party, PUSC). The PLN grew out of a coalition of centrist and social democratic groups that successfully executed the 1948 civil war. The party has traditionally adhered to social democratic principles. The main opposition parties, when in power, maintained many of the PLN’s social and economic development policies. The PUSC was created in the early 1980s with the formalization of a series of anti-PLN coalitions. The party is more conservative than the PLN, but its policies are informed by social Christian ideas, which like the social democratic principles of the PLN afford the state an important role in running the economy and providing social goods and services (such as health care, insurance, education, etc.). This vision changed, however, in the 1980s when both political parties began to gradually implement more market-oriented neo-liberal policies. All presidents since 1949 have been affiliated with either the PLN or the PUSC. Until the 1998 election the two parties also enjoyed majority control of the congress. These two parties’ domination of Costa Rican politics was effectively broken during the 2002 general election when a new party surfaced, the Partido Acción Democratica (Democratic Action Party, PAC), which elected fourteen deputies to the Legislative Assembly, surfaced. PAC leadership consisted of ex-PLN and ex-PUSC politicians who had become disillusioned with the free market neo-liberal economic policies of the two dominant parties. The PAC enjoyed a meteoric rise to political prominence and captured 26 percent of the presidential vote in 2002, forcing a second-round run-off election for the first time in Costa Rican history. Abel Pacheco (b. 1933) of the PUSC eventually defeated the PLN candidate Rolando Araya (b. 1947) in this special election, but no party won majority control of the Legislative Assembly.

■ ■ ■ coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

E L E C T I O N S , V O T I N G , A N D C I T I Z E N PA R T I C I PA T I O N

Elections in Costa Rica are national holidays and commonly referred to as fiestas civicas (civic parties). Until the mid-1990s voter turnout was routinely G O V E R N M E N T S

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above 80 percent, but it fell to 70 percent in 1998 and declined to 68.8 percent in 2002. That individuals have begun staying away from the voting booths is of some concern to Costa Rica’s political elite. As well as declining voter turnout, citizens’ party loyalty has also declined, with increasing numbers of voters splitting their tickets. Since 1989, when a constitutional amendment created a new constitutional court, citizens have increasingly sought legal solutions to traditionally political issues. For example, it is possible for individuals to file a claim directly with the constitutional court without legal representation, without filing fees, and even without any knowledge of which legal right the court might have to enforce.

A WORKER PICKS COFFEE BEANS ON A COSTA RICAN COFFEE PLANTATION IN BELEN IN NOVEMBER 2002. Coffee is Costa Rica’s largest crop and export and has contributed

to the wealth in the region since its introduction in the nineteenth century. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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This extremely open access has resulted in an increase in the number of cases filed with the court, from 2,296 in 1990 (its first full year of operation) to more than 13,400 in 2002.

P E R S O N A L S E C U R I T Y: F R E E D O M F R O M T O R T U R E , I M P R I S O N M E N T, D I S A P P E A R A N C E , O R D E A T H

The constitution prohibits the use of the death penalty and there are no known political prisoners. False imprisonment, exile, disappearances, and torture have not been used by the state in the last fifty years. Indeed, in recognition of Costa Rica’s excellent human rights record, the Inter-American Court for Human Rights is situated in the capital city. According to the nonprofit Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index for 2004, Costa Rica is a “free” country with a ranking of 1 for political rights and a 2 for civil liberties (with 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating). Panama and Belize received similar rankings, but Nicaragua and Honduras scored 3 and 3, El Salvador 3 and 2, and Guatemala the lowest ranking, 4 and 4. Costa Rica’s level of political freedom is not just the highest in the region; it essentially exists at the same level as Western, industrialized, democratic countries. See also: Constitutional Courts; Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights; Presidential Systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Costa Rica.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cs.html⬎. Freedom House. “Costa Rica.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2005. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/survey2004.htm⬎. Wilson, Bruce M. Costa Rica: Politics, Economics, and Democracy. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1998. Wilson, Bruce M. “The Elections in Costa Rica, February and April 2002.” Electoral Studies 22, no. 3 (2003):509–516. Wilson, Bruce M., Juan Carlos Rodriguez Cordero, and Roger Handberg. “The Best Laid Schemes . . . Gang aft a-gley: Judicial Reform in Latin America—Evidence from Costa Rica.” Journal of Latin American Studies, 36 (2004):507–533. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2003: Millennium Development Goals: A Compact Among Nations to End Human Poverty. New York: United Nations Development Programme, 2003. ⬍http://hdr. undp.org/reports/global/ 2003/⬎.

Bruce M. Wilson

Côte d’Ivoire Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast, in English) is located on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa. Its neighbors are Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Ghana to the east, Guinea to the northwest, and Liberia to the southwest. Like most African countries, Côte d’Ivoire is a cultural mosaic. Its population of 16.6 million (in 2003) comes from over sixty ethnic groups, which can be divided into four broad classifications: Akan (42%), Mandes (27%), Gur or Voltaiques G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

(18%), and Kru (11%). Religiously, Côte d’Ivoire is a mix of Muslims (35–40%), Christians (20–35%), and followers of indigenous beliefs (30–45%). Christians live mostly in the southern regions, and Muslims occupy the northern regions. A large immigrant population (14% of the population) from Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Ghana also reinforces the multicultural character of the Ivory Coast. The Ivorian economy grew at an unprecedented average annual rate of 11 percent in the 1960s; it also grew 5.7 percent between 1997 and 1998 but declined in 2002. Per capita income was estimated at $1,400 in 2003, average life expectancy at 41.7 years, and adult literacy rate at 49.7 percent in 2001. Like most African countries, the economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. In 2001 68 percent of the country’s labor force was employed in the agricultural sector of the economy, yet agriculture contributed only 29 percent of the gross domestic product. Cocoa, coffee, bananas, palm products, pineapples, rubber, and cotton are the main agricultural products. HISTORY

Côte d’Ivoire became independent on August 7, 1960, from France, which had colonized the territory in 1893. In 1904 France reconstituted its possessions in West Africa into French West Africa, with the Côte d’Ivoire as as one of its constituent territories, locating its headquarters in Dakar, Senegal. The other territories within the federation were Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Dahomey (now Benin),

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Mauritania, Senegal, and Niger. The process of change evolved slowly in the territory. In 1944 Felix Houphouet-Boigny (1905–1993), a wealthy plantation owner, joined with other African planters to form the Syndcat Agriculture Africain (SAA, or African Agricultural Union) to pressure French colonial authorities for better conditions for its members. After World War II (1939–1945), when France allowed Ivorians to participate in the political process in the colony, Houphouet-Boigny converted the SAA into a political party called the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) and affiliated it with the regional nationalist organization African Democracy Movement (RDA). In December of 1958, the territory rejected immediate independence in a referendum held by the French government of Charles de Gaulle (1870–1970) in France’s colonies in Africa to determine their future. Houphouet-Boigny, whose PDCI emerged as the dominant political force in the country, pushed for self-rule within the French community instead. Two years later, on August 7, 1960, under the PDCI, Côte d’Ivoire became independent, with Houphouet-Boigny serving as the first president.

■ ■ ■ nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

T H E G O V E R N M E N TA L S T R U C T U R E

Côte d’Ivoire has a unitary system of government whose power is derived from a republican constitution. The constitution creates three structures of government: an executive branch headed by the president, a unicameral legislature (the National Assembly), and the judiciary. The president, who serves as the head of state and chief executive, is popularly elected to serve a term of five years. In 1990, the post of prime minister was created. The constitution provides virtually no checks on the exercise of presidential power. Although it does make provision for judiciary review, it is compromised by the control the president has over judiciary appointments. The legislative branch of government is vested in a National Assembly whose members are elected to serve five-year terms. The extensive, concentrated, and unchecked power of the presidency has led to a weak legislature. Between 1960 and 1993 the PDCI was the only party permitted by law and formed the basis of all political activities, which revolved around a single individual, the president, in this case Houphouet-Boigny. The National Assembly tended to endorse the president rather than take the initiative to make policy by legislating. During the 1995 legislative elections, the first without Houphouet-Boigny, opposition parties were fragmented along ethnic, regional, and religious lines, and the power of the PDCI incumbency, along with its manipulation of the process, enabled it to continue its dominance. The 2000 legislative election for the first time broke the PDCI’s control of the assembly. Of the 225 assembly seats, PDCI won 94; the Popular Front of the Côte d’Ivoire (FPI) led by Laurent Gbagbo (b. 1945), 96; Rally of the Republicans, led by Alassane Ouattara (b. 1942), 5; Independents, 22; and the Ivorian Workers’ Party, led by Francis Wodie (b. 1936), 4. Gbagbo and the FPI also controlled the government. Therefore, because for the first time no party had won a clear-cut majority, genuine debates in the assembly began in 2000. Even so, a pluralistic assembly did not change the president’s control over the political system and process due to the immense constitutional power of the presidential office.

unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body

pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

THE LEGAL SYSTEM

jurisprudence: the body of precedents already decided in a legal system

The legal system in the Côte d’Ivoire draws significantly from the French system of jurisprudence, although it also has elements of customary law. The judiciary is made up of customary courts, courts of first instance, courts of

customary law: a law created by the traditions of a community but never officially declared in force

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■ ■ ■ jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised

impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity

assize, and courts of appeal at the lower levels. At the higher levels are the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice, and the State Security Court. Customary courts handle petty cases on civil, customary, and criminal matters. Courts of first instance have original jurisdiction over civil, juvenile, commercial, administrative, and criminal cases in which the sentence cannot exceed three months. Courts of assize hear solely major criminal cases, whereas courts of appeal hear cases on appeal from courts of first instance and assize. The Supreme Court is mandated by the constitution and is composed of four chambers: constitutional, judiciary, administrative, and auditing. The judiciary chamber is the highest court of appeal on civil and criminal matters. It handles cases on appeal from the court of appeal, and its judgment is final. The High Court of Justice is a specialized judicial body created by the constitution to deal with high crimes against the state. It has responsibilities to impeach the president for treason and to try high-ranking government officials for crimes or misdemeanors resulting from the conduct of their public duties. The National Assembly selects members of the court from among its members, and once constituted, the court selects its president from among its members. The State Security Court has responsibilities for hearing cases against state security, and in 1997 a Court of Arbitration was created and given jurisdiction over commercial disputes. With the exception of members of the High Court, the president makes judiciary appointments from candidates proposed by the minister of justice and keeper of the seal. The constitution provides for the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. For various reasons, however, exercising that independence is a major challenge that has at times compromised the courts’ activities. P O L I T I C A L DY N A M I C S

coup: a quick seizure of power or a sudden attack

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Côte d’Ivoire was relatively stable during the 1960s, 1970s, and parts of the 1980s. Government policies had generated unprecedented economic growth that resulted in job creation and higher incomes. The state’s economic strategy wisely exploited its vast unskilled human resources, its extensive and fertile agricultural land, and its strong reliance on foreign investments, emphasizing agriculture over industry. Economic prosperity meant that people were willing to forget their political deprivations in exchange for economic well-being. It also diverted people’s attention away from politics, but this distraction could be sustained only so long as the economy continued to do well. When the economy started to perform poorly in the 1980s, unrest arose among workers, students, professors, and others, leading to calls for constitutional reforms to create a multiparty political system and greater accountability. In January 1990 after Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) dedicated a costly basilica built using government funds by Houphouet-Boigny in his home town of Yamoussoukro (which he had also made the country’s capital), students and others demonstrated against excessive government spending. The government responded to the unrest by closing down the university and banning demonstrations. This action was followed by an unsuccessful coup d’etat on May 16, 1990. The aborted coup was a wake-up call to President Houphouet-Boigny. He moved swiftly to liberalize the political system, organizing multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections on October 28, 1990, that pitted himself as PDCI’s candidate against his principal challenger, Laurent Gbabgo of the G O V E R N M E N T S

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FPI. Houphouet-Boigny won 81.7 percent of the total votes cast. The opposition challenged the victory, however, arguing that the election was marred by inconsistencies, but the call for the election to be nullified did not succeed. Houphouet-Boigny’s victory radicalized students even more. In December 1993, two years after the first real competitive presidential elections, Houphouet-Boigny died. As president for thirty-three years, he had taken the country through one-party authoritarianism, an economic miracle, and then economic chaos and a return to political pluralism. Henri Konan Bedie (b. 1934), president of the National Assembly, succeeded Houphouet-Boigny, as stipulated by the constitution. In preparation for presidential elections in 1995, Bedie initiated changes to the electoral laws to ban any candidate from the race whose parents were not Ivorian citizens. This was a ploy to disqualify from the race his archrival, Ouattara, who had served as prime minister under Houphouet-Boigny. Ouattara, whose mother was alleged to be from Burkina Faso, was thus ineligible. Ouattara contested Bedie’s claim that he was not Ivorian, but this was difficult to overcome because Bedie had packed the judiciary with supporters who would

■ ■ ■ authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

MEMBERS OF THE JEUNE PATRIOTE (YOUNG PATROIT) MILITIA GATHER TO SUPPORT PRESIDENT LAURENT GBAGBO IN 2004. The country’s constitution calls for a popular election of its president and 225 members of the unicameral National Assembly every five years; however, the political condition has been fiercely unstable since the mid-1990s and, despite a 2003 peace accord among rebel groups, the fighting persists in 2005. (SOURCE: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

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rule in his favor. As preparations for the elections were being made, this controversy generated a new source of upheaval, and the election took place amidst violence. Ouattara boycotted the election, and Bedie won over 95 percent of the vote. In December 1999, Bedie was overthrown by the military, led by General Robert Guei (1941–2002), Bedie’s former minister for employment and minister of youth and sports. When it became evident, even before all the votes had been counted, that Guei was going to lose the election held in October 2000 to his rival Gbagbo, he abruptly proclaimed victory. It took mass demonstrations to force him out of power and for Gbagbo—who received 59.4 percent of the votes to General Guei’s 32.7 percent—to be installed as president. Ghagbo’s legitimacy came under entrenched partisan challenges. Fault lines in these challenges were drawn between Ouattara and his Republican Rally, Bedie and his PDCI party, General Guei and his followers (some of whom were in the military), and Ghagbo and his FPI party supporters. These fault lines also took on ethnic, regional, and religious characteristics. Ouattara’s support came principally from the northern region of the country, which is primarily populated with Muslims, and Bedie’s from around the center of the country with Christians forming the base, although he also had many southerners in his government. Gbagbo is a Bete from the south and a Christian, whereas Guei, who was killed under mysterious circumstances in September 2002, was from the west. Because of the fractured character of politics along ethnic and regional lines, Gbagbo spent much of his presidency working to bring about reconciliation in the country, a task that had proved unsuccessful as of 2004. On September 19, 2002, fighting erupted in the country. Former supporters of Ouattara in the army, who had fled to Burkina Faso when Guei seized power, also joined the revolt. While waging the war, the rebels organized themselves into the Patriotic Movement of the Côte d’Ivoire and quickly moved from a band of disgruntled soldiers fighting to keep their jobs to a full-fledged political organization demanding that President Gbagbo step down and new elections be organized. French troops numbering 2,500 that had been deployed to evacuate French citizens and foreigners from Europe and North America were redeployed along the cease-fire lines to separate the two sides. Two other groups, the Movement for Justice and Peace and the Ivorian Movement for the Greater West, previously unknown, also entered the struggle, attacking the government from the west along the border with Liberia. In mid-January 2003, the French government hosted peace talks in Paris for all the parties to the conflict. The agreement reached at the talks was highly controversial and subject to varying interpretation. Essentially, the agreement called for a power-sharing government, disarmament of the rebel groups, and elections to be held by 2005. Although a power-sharing government had been formed as of 2004, the situation had not changed significantly. The United Nations took over peacekeeping operations separating the two sides. All the rebel forces had united their movements into a single organization called New Forces, led by Guillaume Soro (b. 1972).

P O L I T I C A L PA R T I C I PA T I O N

Under the one-party rule of the PDCI between 1960 and 1990 the state significantly limited political, press, associational, and individual freedoms. Trade unions, with the exception of secondary school teachers’ unions, were

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brought under the umbrella of the General Federation of Ivorian Workers, which itself was controlled by the ruling PDCI government. In this way the unions’ activities could be controlled and geared toward the goal of the state, which was economic development and national unity as opposed to agitating for labor. The government also sought to control students and youths by placing their movement under the umbrella of the PDCI. Books that contained information critical of the government were banned from the country. The University of Abidjan, considered a breeding ground for unrest, was constantly monitored. Comparatively, Côte d’Ivoire has fared poorly on the various indicators of freedom and civil rights. In 1980 Freedom House ranked it as “partly free” and in 1987 the U.S. State Department considered the country’s human rights situation to be “generally satisfactory.” However, the state’s human rights record worsened over the next ten years. The 1999 U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report labeled the human rights record of the Bedie government as “poor.” Under the Guei government of 1999 to 2000 and the Ghagbo government of 2000, extra-judiciary killings and torture were used against opponents of the government and by the rebel forces against their opponents. In 2003, Freedom House ranked the country as “not free,” scoring its performance on both civil liberties and political rights as a 6 out of 7, with 7 being “least free.” Due process of law was lacking, and beatings and abuse of detainees, arbitrary arrests, and detention over long periods of time were common practices.

■ ■ ■ extrajudicial: outside the legal system; lacking the legitimating authority of the government

arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

See also: Peacekeeping Forces.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. Côte d’Ivoire: Report 2004. ⬍http://web.amnesty.org/ report2004/civ-summary-eng⬎. Clark, F. and David E. Gardinier. Political Reform in Francophone Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. “Côte d’Ivoire.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iv.html⬎. Freedom House. “Côte d’Ivoire.” Freedom in the World, 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/ cotedivoire.htm⬎. Médard, Jean-François. “The Historical Trajectories of the Ivorien and Kenyan States.” In Rethinking Third World Politics, ed. James Manor. New York: Longman, 1991. Mundt, Robert J. “Côte d’Ivoire: Continuity and Change in a Semi-Democracy.” In Political Reform in Francophone Africa, ed. John F. Clark and David E. Gardinier. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. Tice, Robert D. “Administrative Structure, Ethnicity, and Nation-Building in Ivory Coast.” Journal of Modern African Studies 12, no. 2 (1974):211–229. United Nations Development Programme. “Côte d’Ivoire” Human Development Report 2003. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “Côte d’Ivoire.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. ⬍http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27723.htm⬎.

Moses Kangmieve Tesi

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Crimes Against Humanity

■ ■ ■ tribunal: a type of court of law, usually military in nature

precedent: an established ruling, understanding, or practice of the law

One of the earliest references to a crime against humanity in modern times was made with regard to slavery in a speech delivered in the United States in 1872. The massacre of Armenian people in Turkey was described by a 1915 joint resolution of France, Great Britain, and Russia as representing crimes against humanity (although by the early 2000s the term “genocide” was more commonly applied to the Armenian massacre). After World War I (1914–1918), most of the victorious powers wanted to create a war crimes tribunal to prosecute German leaders under universal principles of justice, but the United States opposed that idea. As a result, by far the most important conceptualization of crimes against humanity came after World War II (1939–1945) in the Nuremberg Principles, which were applied to Hitler’s Third Reich. The Treaty of London of August 8, 1945, provided for the creation of the International Military Tribunal and for the charter for that tribunal, which eventually met at Nuremberg to try Nazi leaders. The first session of the newly created General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 recognized the principles set out in the charter, as well as the precedents set by the Nuremberg Tribunal, and the Nuremberg Principles were formally adopted by the UN International Law Commission in 1950. Principle VI(c) defines crimes against humanity as: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried out in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime. (UN, 1950)

perpetrate: to commit a crime or injustice

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Critics of the Nuremberg Principles argued that the definition of crimes against humanity amounted both to victor’s justice and to retroactive justice in violation of two fundamental principles of justice: nullum crimen sine lege (no crime without a law) and nulla poena sine crimine (no penalty without a crime). On the other hand, proponents of the Nuremberg Principles argued that customary international law described certain acts as crimes against humanity and had been within the usages established among civilized nations long before the rise of Hitler’s Germany. The latter arguments won out in 1945, and customary international law, as well as international treaties, continued to affirm strongly the Nuremberg Principles into the twenty-first century. Although the Nuremberg Tribunal clearly envisioned crimes against humanity as acts committed in the context of World War II, subsequent developments led crimes against humanity to be viewed as independent of the context of interstate warfare. In the early 2000s, crimes against humanity have been prohibited under international law regardless of whether they are committed in an armed conflict or whether they are international or internal in character. Thus, as carried forward in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), crimes (such as murder) require no armed conflict but become war crimes when they meet the following two thresholds: First, “the conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, directed against a civilian population,” and second, “the perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended the conduct to be part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population” (UN, 1998). When those threshold elements are added to the following crimes, they become crimes against humanity under Article 7(1) of the Rome Statute: murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, G O V E R N M E N T S

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enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance, and apartheid. Finally, the Rome Statute has a catchall provision for defining other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. Inhumane acts involve inflicting serious injury to the body, causing great suffering, or endangering mental or physical health. An “inhumane act” is one of a character similar to any act otherwise listed in Article 7(1) of the Rome Statute. Although the Rome Statute of the ICC requires an attack against a civilian population, the Statute for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, adopted by the UN in 1993, mentions only an “armed conflict, whether international or internal in character, directed against a civilian population” (UN, 1993) and the Statute for the International Criminal Tribunal for

■ ■ ■ persecute: to belittle, harass, injure, or otherwise intimidate, especially those of a different background or group apartheid: an official policy of racial segregation in the Republic of South Africa with a goal of promoting and maintaining white domination

In October 1945, twenty-four men faced war-crime charges in Nuremberg, Germany, including crimes against humanity, for their part in the deaths of millions during World War II. Only three were acquitted in October 1946 by the four allied nations (United States, France, Great Britain, and Russia) in the first of thirteen trials. (SOURCE: © CORBIS) NUREMBERG TRIALS IN GERMANY.

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Rwanda requires only that the relevant acts be “committed in a systematic manner or on a large scale and instigated or directed by a government or by any organization or group” (UN, 2004). The inclusion of various sex crimes as crimes against humanity in the Rome Statute of the ICC was a direct consequence of non-governmental organizations that advocated effectively on behalf of women (most notably the Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice in the ICC) as frequent and persistent victims of crimes against humanity. Treating “enforced disappearances of persons” as a crime against humanity in the Rome Statute was a direct consequence of the disappearances of many people during the 1980s, perhaps most notably those that occurred in Argentina and Chile, whereas the mention of “apartheid” is a direct consequence of the racist program in South Africa that contributed the name and identity of this crime. Probably the worst crime against humanity is that of genocide, defined broadly as the effort to annihilate a racial, ethnic, or religious group. The association of genocide with the Nazi regime contributed directly to its treatment as a crime unto itself and to a separate convention, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which entered into force in 1951.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

See also: Apartheid; Genocide; International Criminal Court; International Human Rights Law; International Humanitarian Law; Universal Declaration of Human Rights; War Crimes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Politi, Mauro, and Giuseppi Nesi, eds. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Challenge to Impunity. Burlington, VT: Ashgate/Darmouth, 2001. Power, Samantha. “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Basic Books, 2002. Robertson, Geoffrey. Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice. London: Penguin Books, 1999. United Nations International Law Commission. Nuremberg Principles. July 29, 1950. ⬍http://www.un.org/law/ilc/texts/nurnberg.htm⬎. United Nations. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: Statute of the Tribunal. May 3, 1993. ⬍http://www.un.org/icty/legaldoc/index.htm⬎. United Nations. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: Statute of the Tribunal. November 8, 1994. ⬍http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/basicdocs/statute.html⬎. United Nations. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. July 17, 1998. ⬍http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm⬎.

Donald W. Jackson

Croatia The Republic of Croatia is located in southeastern Europe, bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the south, Hungary to the north, Slovenia to the west, and Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Herzegovina to the east. According to the 2001 census, the population of Croatia was 4,437,460. Croatia covers an area of 56,542 square kilometers (21,825 square miles). Northern Croatia is a plain bounded by

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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

the Drava River in the north, the Sava River in the south, and the Danube River in the east. A range of the Dinaric Alps follows the Adriatic coastline. More than 60 percent of the property formerly owned by the state had been privatized by the early 2000s, and the privatization process was expected to continue. Agriculture was dominated by small farmers that comprise a strong political lobby. Tourist services accounted for a significant source of national income. Croatia’s per capita income was estimated at $6,240 in 2003.

■ ■ ■ lobby: to advocate for a specific political decision by attempting to persuade decision makers per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

HISTORY

The modern Croatian nation emerged in 1943 during conflict between antifascist movements and a Nazi regime, which was governing the country. An assembly of national liberation (ZAVNOH) established an independent antifascist government, which decided on November 29, 1943, to join the Yugoslav federation led by communist authoritarian leader Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980). While Croatia was a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, all governmental, political, and military leadership was concentrated in the hands of Tito as the president of the republic. This Croatian-born autocrat ruled the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until his death on May 4, 1980, although the federal constitution of 1974 granted more autonomy to constituent republics and recognized their right to secede. After Tito’s death, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was governed by a rotating eight-member presidency comprised of representatives of all G O V E R N M E N T S

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regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

autocracy: a political system in which one individual has absolute power secede: to break away from, especially politically

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■ ■ ■ nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others insurgency: a rebellion against an existing authority referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative

interim: for a limited time, during a period of transition

North Atlantic Treaty Organization: a military alliance chiefly involving the United States and Western Europe that stated that, in the event of an attack, the member countries would have a mutual defense

bicameral: comprised of two chambers, usually a legislative body

coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

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federal units. In 1990 the Croatian representative, Stjepan Mesi´c (b. 1934), held the office of the last president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As a close associate of independent Croatia’s first president, Franjo Tudjman (1922–1999), Mesi´ c navigated Croatia’s way out of the federation. Democratic general elections organized in 1990 by a reformist element of the Croatian Communist Party, led by Ivica Raçan (b. 1944), ousted the Communist Party and replaced it with the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), a nationalist popular movement under the leadership of Tudjman, who had been a communist army general during World War II (1939–1945). The ascent of the HDZ to power was followed by the resistance and insurgency of the ethnic Serbian population in Croatia. The insurgency was fueled by the Yugoslav Army and the active support of Serbian communist leader Slobodan Milosevic (b. 1941). On the basis of a subsequent national referendum held in May 1991, Croatia took advantage of the secession provisions of the 1974 constitution and declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991. Following the declaration of Croatia’s independence and the simultaneous declaration of independence of neighboring Slovenia, the Yugoslav army intensified military operations in Croatia. To accommodate the increasing ethnic Serb insurgency and the concerns of the international community, independence was postponed for three months and ultimately took effect on October 8, 1991. The declaration was preceded by the election of the first multiparty parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) on May, 30, 1990, and the adoption of the first democratic constitution (called the Christmas Constitution) on December 22, 1990. A war of independence, fought against remnants of the Yugoslav army and irregular Serbian troops, began in 1991 and continued until August 1995, when Croatian forces staged a major military operation and regained control over most of the state’s former territory. Control of the remaining part of the occupied territory was gained on January 28, 1998, when the interim United Nations administration handed over the region of Baranja to the government’s control. Croatia became the 178th member of the United Nations on May 22, 1992, and the fortieth member of the Council of Europe on November 6, 1996. In November 2000 Croatia became a member of the World Trade Organization. Its government applied for membership in the European Union (EU), joined the Partnership for Peace, and as of 2004 was seeking membership to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

G O V E R N M E N T- B U I L D I N G

Croatian government developed from the eroding institutional framework of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which had been a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Christmas Constitution was enacted subject to the amendment procedure set forth by the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Croatia. The Christmas Constitution balanced power among three branches: a strong president of the republic vested with constitutional power to control the government, a bicameral parliament, and an independent Constitutional Court. Under the institutional structure, President Tudjman played a major political role during the war of independence (1991–1995) and remained highly influential until his death on December 8, 1999. After Tudjman’s death, Mesi´c was elected president of Croatia in the presidential elections of 2000; he continued to hold that office as of early 2005. Parliamentary elections held on January 3, 2000, resulted in a sweeping victory for a six-party coalition led by Social Democrats and Raçan. The constitutional G O V E R N M E N T S

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amendments of November 9, 2000, made Croatia a parliamentary democracy, strengthening the prime minister’s role and weakening the powers of the president. The electoral downfall of the HDZ in 2000 led to the democratic transformation of the party under the leadership of Ivo Sanader (b. 1953) and to the ousting of its radical right elements. The transformation was favorably received by the electorate, which brought the reformed HDZ back to power in late 2003 and made Sanader the prime minister. The new center-right government continued the path of reform and brought the country closer to the EU. Croatia was granted the status of EU candidate country in 2004, and membership negotiations were due to begin in 2005. ■ ■ ■

GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION

Croatia is a parliamentary democracy in which the rule of law is generally respected and constitutional institutions function normally. Parliamentary elections are held every four years and are followed by smooth transitions of power. Local government is elected and functional. Government is limited by the constitution. The constitution has an entrenched status requiring a two-thirds parliamentary majority for amendment. The Constitutional Court Act defines the powers of the Constitutional Court and the Constitutional Law on Protection of National Minorities. The significance of the constitution is both political and normative. However, courts rarely apply the constitution directly as a source of rights. Croatia’s initial post-independence presidential system, designed according to the French model, was adopted as a consequence of an imminent national emergency (i.e., the war of independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). During the war the top political priorities were nation-building and the adoption of measures related to the national emergency. Following the end of hostilities and death of Croatia’s central political figure, President Tudjman, the system was transformed into a parliamentary one because of the political theory that a parliamentary system better serves democracy than a strong presidential one. According to the constitution, the main national institutions are the onehouse parliament (Sabor), the government (prime minister and cabinet ministers), the president of the republic, the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court. The National Bank of Croatia is an independent institution. The parliament consists of a single house, the House of Representatives (Zastupniçki dom), with a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 160 representatives. Following the elections of December 2003, the actual number was 142. Representatives are elected to serve four-year terms according to a proportional representation system from ten constituencies. An eleventh constituency elects eight representatives of national minorities, three of which are allocated to the Serb minority. The power to dissolve the parliament is vested in the president of the republic if the government loses a vote of no-confidence or if the state budget is not adopted within 120 days after having been proposed by the government. Parliament can also self-dissolve by taking a vote to that effect. Parliamentary life is regulated by the parliamentary rules of procedure that have constitutional significance. The rules of procedure regulate the law-making process, the formation and work of caucuses, and the work of parliamentary committees. Both the ruling majority and the opposition take part in all parliamentary committees and bodies according to proportional representation. The minority nominates the G O V E R N M E N T S

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proportional system: a political system in which legislative seats or offices are awarded based on the proportional number of votes received by a party in an election

caucus: a group of individuals with common traits or goals, or a meeting of such a group

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■ ■ ■ suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

countersignature: a second signature on a document confirming its validity

impeach: to accuse of a crime or misconduct, especially a high official; to remove from a position, especially as a result of criminal activity

adjudicate: to settle a case by judicial procedure

jurisdiction: the territory or area within which authority may be exercised judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution docket: a list or schedule of cases to be heard by a court

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vice president of the parliament. Parliamentary committees are also staffed by representatives of civil society. The president of the republic is the head of the state. The presidential term of office is five years and is renewable. Election to the presidency requires an absolute majority in a first election. If no candidate gains an absolute majority in the first election, a second election is held in which the candidate receiving the most votes wins. Direct universal suffrage is granted to all citizens. The powers of the president include calling the parliamentary elections and referendums and accrediting the government. The president has a power of countersignature for a number of acts of the government (including appointments of senior civil servants), participates in the creation of foreign policy, and plays a limited role in its implementation. Athough the command of the armed forces is in the hands of the minister of defense and the government, the president is the supreme commander of the armed forces and has the power to appoint and remove high military officers. The president can be impeached by a two-third majority in the parliament and removed from office on charges of violation of the constitution, subject to a two-thirds majority vote of the justices of the Constitutional Court. As of 2004, however, no impeachment procedure had ever been instituted. The government (i.e., the executive branch of the government) is appointed by parliamentary majority, subject to nomination by the president of the republic and confirmation by a vote of confidence in the parliament. The prime minister appoints the ministers. The government has genuine constitutional powers but is politically answerable to the parliament. Although the prime minister and the members of the government are jointly responsible for government, ministers are individually accountable for their departments. Constitutionally, the government may not interfere with the reserved domain of powers retained by the parliament, which include regulation of human rights and freedoms, minority rights, the electoral system, and local and regional self-government. Parliament can ask the government to present information concerning its policy and implementation of laws. An interpellation, which is a formal question concerning an official action or policy, can be addressed to the government, in which case a vote of confidence must be held. Ten interpellation proceedings were held between 1990 and 2004. Ordinary judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and inferior courts. There are three levels of the judicial hierarchy: municipal courts that adjudicate in first instance, county courts that decide appeals, and the Supreme Court. Other specialized courts are the administrative court and courts of commerce, including the high court of commerce. Petty offenses are tried by courts of misdemeanor. The legal system is based on Roman law and the legal tradition of continental Europe. It is a statute-based, legislature-dominated system. Case law plays a limited role, and courts are expected to be subservient to the legislature. The judicial branch has been acquiring an increasing professional self-awareness, but inefficiency and lengthy proceedings remain serious problems, often leading to litigation before the European Court of Human Rights. No firm evidence of significant corruption of judges exists, however, and the government has stepped up efforts to improve the efficiency of the judiciary. The Constitutional Court serves as an independent umpire formally located outside the judicial hierarchy. Its jurisdiction includes abstract judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and protection of fundamental rights and liberties via a constitutional complaint procedure. In practice, constitutional complaint proceedings dominate the Constitutional Court’s docket. An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights is permissible. The G O V E R N M E N T S

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Constitutional Court also supervises the electoral process and decides jurisdictional disputes among other branches of government. Public administration agencies, the army, and the police are controlled by the government under the supervision of the parliament. Local administration

Constructed in 1516, the dazzling Sponza Palace in the southeastern Croatia town of Dubrovnik houses the state archives. Once a mint, it often offers public displays of its historical collections of documents and maps.

SPONZA PALACE IN DUBROVNIK.

(SOURCE:© CHARLES JEAN-MARC/CORBIS SYGMA)

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■ ■ ■ arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

is organized around municipalities (426) and townships (121). Regional selfgovernment is the responsibility of the twenty-one counties, including the capital, Zagreb. Local government has the authority to regulate the public sector (e.g., utilities) and services such as health care and education. In theory, entry to civil-service employment is based on examination and promotion is based on merit; in practice, these standards have eroded, resulting in arbitrary hiring and promotions.

POLITICAL LIFE

Political life is dominated by two major parties: the Croatian Democratic Union on the center-right and the Social Democratic Party on the center-left. The main political parties lack internal democratic structure and are under the control of party leadership. Party leaders of the main parties are elected at party conventions and not by primary elections. Political life is often dominated by the agendas of large interest groups, such as farmers, the shipbuilding industry, and war veterans. Harmonization of Croatian practices with the law of the EU was changing the social balance in the early 2000s, as formerly arbitrarily distributed state subsidies and public procurement became regulated and subject to tighter controls, despite the opposition of entrenched interest groups.

subsidy: a government grant used to encourage some action

Citizens exercise direct universal suffrage at the age of eighteen. Institutions of civil society are present and active, and non-governmental organizations are consulted in lawmaking. A system of constitutional review can be used to challenge unconstitutional acts. Fundamental rights and liberties are defined by the constitution and international treaties that form part of the law of the land. The liberties correspond to those prescribed by the European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The convention, which is directly applicable as a self-executing treaty and has an entrenched status, is systematically applied by the Constitutional Court and less frequently by courts of general jurisdiction.

habeas corpus: a written order to determine whether one’s detention or imprisonment is lawful; Latin for “you shall have the body”

The death penalty is prohibited by the constitution. The interpretation of the right to life enables abortion on demand during the first three months of pregnancy. Euthanasia is illegal. The right to personal liberty via the writ of habeas corpus is guaranteed by the constitution and regulated by criminal law. Freedoms of speech and of the press are guaranteed, and the level of their protection is generally satisfactory. The main problems include a limited protection of the right to property; this right is frequently violated at the local level to the detriment of Serb minority refugees. Nevertheless, judicial protection of fundamental rights generally represents no problem in practice. Despite the relatively good functioning of public administration, significant problems of governance still existed in the early 2000s. Civil service was slow and inefficient, and administration of justice was burdened with huge backlogs of cases. Corruption was perceived as a significant problem, and the country was positioned at sixty-fifth place on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2004. Although the government remained committed to full cooperation with the International War Crime Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, no national consensus had yet been reached on that issue, and government efforts were often obstructed on local level. Post-conflict ethnic reconciliation and return of refugees was progressing well in urban areas, but problems existed in rural communities. Politically, as of 2004 Social Democrats and the reformed HDZ each enjoyed the support of approximately 30 percent of the electorate. The remaining political loyalties were spread to smaller parties. Extreme-right parties held approximately 6 to 7 percent of votes.

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See also: Constitutional Courts; European Court of Human Rights; Parliamentary Systems; Transitional Political Systems. BIBLIOGRAPHY Pellet, Alain. “The Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee: A Second Breath for the Self-Determination of Peoples.” European Journal of International Law 3, no. 1 (1992): 178–181. ⬍http://www.ejil.org/journal/Vol3/No1/art13.html⬎. Commission of the European Communities. “Opinion on Croatia’s Application for Membership of the European Union.” COM(2004) 257 final. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities, 2004. ⬍http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/ see/sap/rep3/cr_croat.pdf⬎. Bartlett, William. Croatia: Between Europe and the Balkans. New York: Routledge, 2003. Denitch, Bogdan. “Democratic Breakthrough in Croatia.” Dissent 47, no. 2 (2000):34–36. Freedom House. “Croatia.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/ croatia.htm⬎. Hdel, Drago. “Living in the Past: Franjo Tudjman’s Croatia.” Current History 99, no. 635 (2000):104. Tanner, Marcus. Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, 2d ed. New Haven, CT: Yale Nota Bene, 2001. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “Croatia.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004. ⬍http://www.state. gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27831.htm. 2003⬎. U.S. Institute of Peace. “Croatia After Tudjman.” Special report no. 36. Washington DC: U.S. Institute of Peace, 1998. ⬍http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/early/ croatia.html⬎.

Sinisˇa Rodin

Cuba In 1898, after three decades of struggle, and ultimately with the assistance of the United States, Cuba gained its independence from Spain. For the following sixty years the Cuban people battled unsuccessfully to establish a legitimate, democratic government. Chaos, cronyism, corruption, violence, instability, and repeated U.S. political and military interventions characterized this period. In January 1959 Cuba’s destiny changed dramatically. Fidel Castro (b. c. 1927) and his rebel army overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista (1901–1973). Within three years the Castro regime had established a selfdescribed Marxist-Leninist government determined to bring about profound institutional transformation. During the first few years of its existence the revolutionary government appropriated the communications media, most businesses, and all banks; closed schools; and established an education system to instruct students in Marxist-Leninist principles and objectives. To protect the revolution from internal and external enemies, the leaders formed a domestic intelligence organization based on “defense committees” that placed communities under the watchful eyes of Cuban Communist Party activists. Although many of their initial efforts were directed toward changing prerevolutionary institutions, the Cuban leaders viewed cultural change as an equally G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ cronyism: favoritism for one’s friends or supporters in the appointment to positions or granting of other benefits regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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■ ■ ■ nationalization: the process of giving control or ownership of an entity to the government

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compelling revolutionary goal. Hence, they also turned their attention to eliminating certain counterrevolutionary aspects of preexisting culture (those values, attitudes, and beliefs that were products of historical experiences) and creating a new set of widely accepted values and attitudes more appropriate for MarxistLeninist objectives. From its first years in power, ideological transformation thus stood out as a central aspect of the Cuban revolutionary regime. Throughout the early 1960s Cuba, viewed by many Third World leaders as a pivotal player in the Cold War alignment of developing countries, moved politically and economically further from the United States and closer to the former Soviet Union and its communist allies. Cuba’s flamboyant support of revolutionary activities throughout Latin America, its broadening trade relationship with Moscow, and its move to nationalize American oil companies in June 1960 prompted the U.S. government to embargo most exports to Cuba. Perhaps the single most important event that strengthened the Soviet tie and commitment to Cuba was the failed U.S. Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, when anti-Castro Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), failed to foment an uprising in Cuba against the Castro regime. The Soviets responded by dramatically increasing economic and technical aid to Cuba. Two years later, in mid-1962, the Kremlin boldly initiated a risky attempt to introduce missiles on the island. In October 1962 U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) responded to the Soviet challenge by establishing a blockade of Cuba and demanding the immediate withdrawal of the missiles and all other offensive weapons placed by the Soviet Union on the island. The Cuban missile crisis pushed the two superpowers to the brink of a nuclear war. Although the missile crisis ended without bloodshed, it tied Cuba closer to the Soviet Union. During the Cold War the Soviet leadership viewed Cuba as a strategically important base from which to spy on the United States, support its nuclear submarines, and promote revolutionary movements across the Western Hemisphere. Cuba saw Moscow as a generous source of aid and support, an effective legitimizer of the Cuban regime, and a sharp political thorn in the side of the United States. By 1970 the Cuban-Soviet relationship had solidified G O V E R N M E N T S

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economically and politically. The Cuban leadership established a Soviet-style constitution, adopted an economic plan modeled after that of Moscow, and recast its domestic social, political, and economic policies to encourage a more orthodox set of Marxist-Leninist goals. In exchange for its loyalty to and support for Soviet aspirations and goals, Cuba enjoyed abundant aid and an array of preferential trade benefits while finding a privileged place under the protective wing of its Soviet provider. C U B A N R E VO LU T I O N I N C R I S I S : 1 9 9 1

In 1991, however, the Soviet Union disintegrated, bringing the Cold War to an end. The collapse of the Soviet bloc jolted Cuba, which suddenly found its chief benefactor, from which substantial assistance had long and consistently flowed, to have vanished. Indeed, thereafter, Cuba faced a series of other severe economic setbacks. With oil prices cripplingly high, production levels plunged to woefully low levels. Natural disasters repeatedly and markedly damaged Cuba’s struggling sugar industry; the regime remained unable to attract many trading partners or foreign investors; external debt plagued Cuba’s ability to attract fresh capital. Through the remainder of the decade the Cuban government enacted a series of limited reforms: legalizing dollars, allowing certain private businesses, encouraging joint ventures (primarily in tourism) by offering fiscal incentives to investors, and establishing farm markets where small producers could sell their surplus produce at market-driven prices. The Castro regime also moved to expand its tourism sector, raise agricultural production, cultivate better and more diversified trade relations, and increase the number of visas that it would grant to Cuban Americans (in an effort to attract more hard currency to the island). Yet the economic improvement these reforms brought about remained marginal. In the twenty-first century Cuba’s growth rate has hovered around 0.5 percent. The 2003 annual sugar harvest was the smallest since 1933, partly as a result of industry restructuring that included closing half of the country’s sugar mills and eliminating one-quarter of the jobs. The island, with a population of approximately 11 million, ranks among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with a per capita income of U.S. $1,700. While the economy relies heavily on such primary products as sugar, minerals, and tobacco and the expanding tourism industry, the most important source of hard currency comes from the United States in the form of remittances flowing back to the island from Cuban American communities. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, in 2002, exiles living in the United States sent an estimated $1.1 billion to Cuba in remittances. In addition, 150,000 Cuban Americans travel to Cuba every year, spending crucial tourist dollars on the island. Cuba’s relationship with the United States has remained poor since formal relations broke down in the early 1960s. The relationship hit a low in February 1996 when the Cuban military shot down, over international waters, two small unarmed civilian American planes that had been dropping anti-Castro leaflets over Havana. The incident resulted in the death of four Americans. One month later the U.S. Congress responded with the Helms-Burton Act. Since the Cuban government has never compensated U.S. citizens for expropriated property, this law markedly restricts the ability of foreign companies and nationals to invest in properties confiscated from Americans. If foreign companies do invest in these properties, the law prohibits the principals in those companies from traveling to the United States and allows U.S. citizens to sue these companies within the American legal system to obtain full compensation. With the intent of discouraging foreign G O V E R N M E N T S

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per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country remittance: a shifting of funds from one entity to another

expropriate: to take property from its owner and give it to another, especially oneself; usually accomplished through government decree or legal procedures

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investment in Cuba, the Helms-Burton Act set off another round of tense exchanges between the United States and Cuba.

A U T H O R I TA R I A N P O L I T I C S A N D C U B A’ S R U L I N G PA R T Y

In the four decades since the revolution, Cuba’s political system has undergone remarkably few changes. Castro himself has served for more than four decades as head of state, secretary-general of the Cuban Communist Party, and commander in chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Both the Cuban Communist Party and the Revolutionary Armed Forces play a critical role in the daily management of the small island state. ■ ■ ■ delegate: to assign power to another, or, one who represents another

dissident: one who disagrees with the actions or political philosophy of his or her government or religion

Although minor adjustments have been made, one-party, one-candidate elections continue to establish the governing elite. All 609 deputies elected to Cuba’s National Assembly and all 1,199 delegates elected to provincial assembles in January 2003 ran unopposed. Moreover, the Cuban regime allows only government-created mass organizations to participate in civil and political activities. Finally, despite Cuba’s Electoral Law allowing for public scrutiny of the elections, no accredited foreign media or independent observers have been permitted to observe elections. In 2003 shortly after the national elections, one Cuban dissident commented that this was “not an election because in an election you can choose from different options” (Focus on Cuba 2003). Another prominent dissident stated: “In Cuba, candidates are put forth by organizations controlled by the government. In Cuba there is an environment of disrespect for civil rights. This is neither constitutional nor legitimate” (Miami Herald 2003).

R E VO LU T I O N A R Y AC H I E V E M E N T S

The Castro regime can point with pride to several central achievements. First, the Cuban government has consistently focused on basic education. Within the first three years after the revolution the leadership successfully established a broad universal education system that reached nearly every citizen on the island. In September 1960 the government launched the Literacy Campaign, which mobilized tens of thousands of students across the country to go into the countryside and educate the masses. In 2003 the Cuban literacy rate stood at around 95 percent, an impressive number for such a small, poor country. The provision of basic health care to all of the island’s citizens ranks as another notable success. Early in the 1960s the leadership made a serious effort to improve the health care of the Cuban population, particularly those citizens living in remote and rural areas. During the first three decades after the revolution Cuba’s health-care indicators improved dramatically. Indeed, by the end of the 1980s the infant-mortality rate in Cuba stood at a level comparable to that of the world’s developed countries. Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, however, the Cuban regime has simply lacked the resources necessary to maintain its health-care services. Accordingly, childhood malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies commonly occur, and infant-mortality rates have risen. Finally, the Cuban regime has succeeded in developing a first-class reputation in international sports competitions. Compared to other countries with a similar per capita income, Cuba assumed an extraordinarily impressive position among the most athletically dominant countries in the world. In fact, from the beginning of the revolution the government sought to develop a sports consciousness among its citizens. At home, the government used mass participation in sports to unify and mobilize citizens, to preoccupy, invigorate, and rally the population. Moreover, the leadership believed that sports participation

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Similar to Labor Day in the United States, May Day is celebrated in honor of working men and women in most of the world. Castro marks the occasion with speeches promoting socialism and rallying against the capitalist United States. (SOURCE:AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS) CUBAN LEADER FIDEL CASTRO SPEAKING IN HAVANA ON MAY DAY, 2003.

would help to build healthier, hardier, more skilled citizens, which would result in improved military performance and labor output. In addition, Cuban leaders seized on sports training as an opportunity to regiment and educate the population politically. Through mass sports participation the government effectively controlled much of the leisure time of children, students, and workers. The leadership also supported and encouraged participation in sports, particularly among the young, for political reasons. By carefully screening its promising youth and then training them through the most sophisticated methods available, the government sought to create world-class athletes. The leadership, in turn, put these athletes on display as “successes” of the socialist revolution. They served as Castro’s international spokespersons, as examples of Cuba’s balanced “new man” and new revolutionized individual. These athletes’ impressive performances brought Cuba worldwide prestige, status, and respect. Castro, in turn, used this international sports clout to make political statements, to demonstrate solidarity with other socialist countries, and to create nationalist, anti-American, anticapitalist, and anti-imperialist sentiment among the Cuban population and sympathizers across the globe. However, given the political and economic difficulties that have plagued Cuba since the early 1990s, its sports programs and participation in international competitions have tapered off, and the defection of well-known baseball stars and other athletes has given the Castro regime somewhat of a black eye. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative signatory: one who signs an agreement with other parties and is then bound to that agreement

The Castro government continues to face serious allegations concerning human rights abuses on the island. Although the Cuban Constitution of 1975 allows legislative proposals backed by at least ten thousand citizens to be submitted directly to the National Assembly, in 2002 the Castro regime rejected a petition with more than eleven thousand signatures that had been submitted to the Assembly. This petition, known as the Varela Project, called for a national referendum on broad political and economic reforms. A few months later citizens submitted a second petition with more than fourteen thousand new signatories. The government once again rejected it. In March 2003 the Castro government arrested seventy-five human-rights activists, including journalists, writers, and other dissidents. In quick summary trials the regime sentenced the activists to prison terms ranging from six to twenty-eight years. A number of international human rights organizations have consistently identified Cuba as a serious human rights abuser in various areas. All citizens are routinely denied the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association. Some religious activity is also restricted. Discrimination against blacks, women, and homosexuals remains commonplace. The regime regularly arrests dissidents for publicly displaying human rights literature, organizing meetings or protests, receiving money and medicine from abroad for families of political prisoners, and communicating with international media organizations. In an effort to coerce dissidents into leaving the country, the government often harasses, threatens, and arbitrarily arrests and detains journalists, doctors, lawyers, economists, and other professionals. Some are subjected to unfair or secret trials. Members of the security forces and prison officials frequently beat and abuse detainees and prisoners, and the government routinely fails to punish those found to have committed such abuses. Moreover, prison conditions remain harsh: Prisoners lack adequate medical care and commonly face abuse and harassment.

C U B A’ S C H A L L E N G E

market economy: an economy with little government ownership and relatively free markets

In the early twenty-first century Cuba faces multiple challenges. Desperately in need of fresh leadership that will set the country on a new course, the island state struggles to feed its disillusioned population. Plagued by low productivity, labor absenteeism, a high rate of suicide, widespread political repression, and pervasive poverty, the country searches for solutions to a seemingly endless array of problems. This isolated socialist state continues to try to survive in a world increasingly driven by international market forces. Even China and Vietnam, the world’s other self-avowed Marxist-Leninist states, have, in reality, adopted full-fledged market economies, while leaving in place their archaic outmoded leaderships. To move forward, Cuba must admit its mistakes and change various policies. However, there is little sign that this will happen during Castro’s lifetime. For the last four decades the Castro regime has been quick to blame the United States and its embargo for much of the island’s suffering. Nevertheless, not a single additional nation has abided by the U.S. embargo, and Cuba could have met its needs by trading with any other country in the world. Cuba remains poor not because it lacks access to needed goods, but because it has not been able to produce and sell in order to earn the hard currency to buy necessary items.

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In the first three decades following the revolution, Cuba, although a tiny, poor country, stood out because of its enterprising foreign policy and central role in the world. This place in history was almost entirely a reflection of the popularity, charisma, and singular role of Castro. But in the early twenty-first century the charisma and allure of this leader have waned markedly. People on and off the island increasingly view him as an archaic, out-of-touch leader intent on retaining power and unwilling to do what it takes to rescue his country from despair and poverty. Should a significant change in the Cuban political regime occur, the first order of business for the new government will likely be settling the claims of expropriation with the United States. Once that occurs, the United States is likely to lift its embargo, start the flow of economic assistance, and establish friendly relations with the island country only ninety miles off the coast of Florida. See also: Caribbean Region; Dictatorship.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Activist Payá Calls Upcoming Cuban Elections a Sham.” Miami Herald, January 16, 2003. ⬍http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4957416.htm?1c⬎. Bunck, Julie Marie. Fidel Castro and the Quest for a Revolutionary Culture in Cuba. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994. “Cuba’s One-Party, One Candidate ‘Elections’.” Focus on Cuba. January 21, 2003. ⬍http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue36.htm⬎. Dominguez, Jorge I. To Make the World Safe for Revolution: Cuba Foreign Policy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989. Geyer, Georgie Ann. Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1991. Gonzalez, Edward. Cuba: Clearing Perilous Waters. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, l996. Horowitz, Louis Irving and Jaime Suchlicki, eds. Cuban Communism: 1959–2003. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2003. Perez-Stable, Marifeli. The Cuban Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, l993. Price, S. L. Pitching Around Fidel: A Journey Into the Heart of Cuban Sports. New York: Ecco, 2000. Quirk, Robert E. Fidel Castro. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995. Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo. Cuba: The Making of a Revolution. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, l968. Suchlicki, Jaime. Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond. Washington, DC: Brassey’s, 1997.

Julie M. Bunck

Cyprus Cyprus is an island state in the eastern Mediterranean. With an area of 9,251 square kilometers (3,572 square miles), it is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. Its two mountain ranges, one running along the northern coast and the other in the center and southwest, are separated by the fertile Mesaoria plain. G O V E R N M E N T S

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In the thirteenth century B.C.E., the Mycenaean Greeks started settling in Cyprus, introducing the Greek language CYPRUS MEDITERRANEAN and culture, which have been preserved into the twenty-first Cape SEA 50 Miles 25 0 Apostolos century. In 1571 Cyprus was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, Andreas who held the island for more than three hundred years. It is to Rizokarpasso 0 25 50 Kilometers la Yialousa u this period that the Turkish-Cypriot minority community is s nin Pe Cape s traced. Cyprus was ceded to Britain in 1878. a North Kormakiti Leonarisso rp Ka Kyrenia Cyprus Kormakiti Trikomo In 1955 the Greek Cypriots’ liberation struggle against the Morphou Lapithos K Y R E N I A R A N G E Famagusta Bay Morphou Kythrea Lefkoniko Bay Khrysokhou British, which had the aim of uniting Cyprus with Greece, Karavostasi Bay Kokkina Nicosia Famagusta Lysi ended with the limited independence of Cyprus under agreeLefka TROODOS Dhali Xylophaghou Paralimni MOUNTAINS Cyprus Polis ments reached between Britain, Greece, and Turkey, which Aradhippou Cape s Olympus Peyia Larnaca U.K. Base Greco 6,401 ft. assumed the role of guarantor powers. Thus, the Republic Larnaca 1951 m. Pano Kiti Bay i Lefkara of Cyprus was born. A presidential system of government h Paphos D Pakhna Vasilikos was adopted, with executive authority being exercised by the Limassol U.K. Base Akrotiri Episkopi Cape republic’s president, who appoints a council of ministers. In Gata Bay the view of the Greek-Cypriot majority, the constitution was not the outcome of the Cypriots’ free will and gave excessive power to the Turkish Cypriots. The constitution proved N unworkable and contributed to the governmental breakdown Cyprus that occurred in December 1963. The Turkish Cypriots withE W drew from the government and established their own adminisS tration. The Cypriot government brought the matter before the United Nations (UN), which has been involved in efforts to resolve matters ever since. A July 1974 coup against Archbishop Makarios III (1913–1977), Cyprus’s first president, organized by the military (MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP) junta which then ruled Greece, gave Turkey a pretext to invade Cyprus a few days later. Turkey invaded and occupied almost 40 percent of the ■ ■ ■ country and expelled 200,000 Greeks from the occupied territory. In 1983 junta: a group of individuals holding power, Turkish Cypriots established what they called the Turkish Republic of Northern especially after seizing control as a result of a coup Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognized only by Turkey. Following the Turkish invasion, negotiations resumed under the UN with the purpose of seeking a solution based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. Although they produced no tangible results, renewed efforts—which started in 1999 and were strongly supported by the United States—culminated in the Annan Plan. In simultaneous and separate referendums in April 2004, the plan was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots. The latter felt that the plan was unbalanced and favored the Turks. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004, and efforts subsequently continued to resolve the Cyprus question. Cyprus’s membership in the EU, the Turkish Cypriots’ desire to share the benefits of accession with the Greek Cypriots, as well as Turkey’s own effort to join the EU may yet generate conditions favorable for the reunification of the island. Thanks to a vibrant free market economy, socioeconomic conditions in the free market economy: an economy with no or very little government regulation and Republic of Cyprus compare favorably with the EU average. The population in ownership the area under the Republic of Cyprus’s control is almost 800,000. In the Turkishcontrolled area of Cyprus, the majority of the population consists of recent settlers from Turkey (estimated at about 130,000), with the number of native-born Turkish Cypriots having shrunk to less than 90,000. Socioeconomic conditions in the Turkish-controlled area lag behind those of the Republic of Cyprus: 2004 gross domestic product per capita was an estimated $5,600 in the former and $16,500 in the latter.

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In the early 2000s, the Republic of Cyprus’s citizens enjoyed the full freedoms and rights of a Western-type democracy, and citizens actively participated in the country’s political life. Political parties representing all sections of the political spectrum served in the republic’s House of Representatives, and, as of 2004, in the European Parliament. See also:European Union; Greece; Peacekeeping Forces; Presidential Systems; Turkey. BIBLIOGRAPHY Christodoulou, Demetrios. Inside the Cyprus Miracle: Labours of an Embattled MiniEconomy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1992. Holland, R.F. Britain and the Revolt in Cyprus 1954–1959. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1998. O’Malley, Brendan, and Ian Craig. The Cyprus Conspiracy: America, Espionage and the Turkish Invasion. London: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1999. Panteli, Stavros. Historical Dictionary of Cyprus. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1995. Theophanous, Andreas. The Cyprus Question and the EU: the Challenge and the Promise. Nicosia, Cyprus: Intercollege Press, 2004.

Andreas Theophanous

Czechoslavakia See Czech Republic; Slovakia.

Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe that includes the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, and part of Silesia. The republic borders Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and the largest city is Prague. The country’s dominant ethnic group are Czechs, who represent about 94 percent of the population. Slovaks account for approximately 3 percent; and Poles, Germans, Roma (gypsies), and Hungarians make up most of the remainder. The total population was estimated at 10.2 million people as of 2003. About 75 percent of the people live in urban areas. In 2002 the World Bank estimated the per capita income at U.S.$5,480. The official language of the Czech Republic is Czech, a language of the West Slavic subgroup of Slavic languages. The Czech Republic’s total land area is 78,864 square kilometers (30,450 square miles). The maximum distance from east to west is 490 kilometers (305 miles), and the maximum distance from south to north is 280 kilometers (175 miles). The Czech Republic contains two major regions: Bohemia, located in the west, and Moravia, located in the east. Part of the region of Silesia occupies the north-central section of the country. The climate is temperate, with cool summers and cold, cloudy, and humid winters.

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■ ■ ■ per capita: for each person, especially for each person living in an area or country

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■ ■ ■ centralize: to move control or power to a single point of authority

heresy: an opinion about religion that contradicts that of an organized church

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The region that became the Czech Republic was inhabited by Celtic and Germanic tribes prior to the arrival of Slavic tribes in Eastern Europe in the fifth century. In the tenth century, the Premyslids—a dynasty of the legendary Cehove, or Cesi, tribe from which the Czech derived their name—unified neighboring Czech tribes and established a form of centralized rule in Bohemia. In 1212 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194–1250) made Bohemia a largely independent kingdom within the empire. In the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, an important reform movement led by Jan Hus (c. 1373–1415) attacked the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. When Hus was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in 1415, his death triggered a series of religious wars in Bohemia. In 1458 Jiri of Podebrady 1420–1471), a Protestant, was elected king of Bohemia, thus becoming the first Protestant monarch in all of Europe. The sixteenth century brought Czech lands under Habsburg dominance; Ferdinand I (1793–1875) was the first Austrian king of Bohemia. The conflict between Czech Protestant nobility and the Habsburg monarchy degenerated into the Thirty Years’ War. In 1620 the Bohemian army was defeated, and the Czechs were forced to convert to Catholicism and give up their own language and culture in favor of their German counterparts. The next three centuries were marked by significant industrial development and peasant migration to urban areas. During this period Czech writers, journalists, and intellectuals began to stir greater national consciousness among Czechs, but Habsburg rule continued until the empire of Austria-Hungary collapsed after World War I (1914–1918), when the independent state of Czechoslovakia was created. The constitution of the independent Czechoslovakia established a democratic republic committed to the protection of civil rights for all citizens. The G O V E R N M E N T S

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first president, Thomas Masaryk (1850–1937), served until 1935 and was succeeded by Edvard Benes (1884–1948). During the 1920s and early 1930s Czechoslovakia was remarkably stable, enjoying a period of considerable economic prosperity. The main domestic problem was growing disaffection among the country’s large national minorities: the Slovaks and Sudeten Germans.

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In 1938 German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) forced the government of Czechoslovakia to surrender the Sudetenland to Germany. A year later Germany occupied the entire country. When Czechoslovakia was liberated in May 1945 by troops from the Soviet Union, its government fell under communist influence, which lasted until the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The government of Klement Gottwald (1896–1953) was established after the Communist Party won a plurality (38%) of the vote in the first postwar election in 1946. It attempted to mimic the Soviet model of political organization and economic development. It engaged in harsh repression, imprisoning and even executing many political leaders who were considered to be disloyal. Gottwald died in 1953 and was replaced by Antonin Zapotocky (1884–1957), who permitted moderate liberalization of these conditions. However, when Antonin Novotny (1904–1975) assumed the presidency in 1957, strict governmental control was imposed once again. By the late 1960s, the poor performance of the Czech economy had led to a program of reforms (known as the “Prague Spring” of 1968) implemented by the Slovak leader, Alexander Dubcek (1921–1992). Fearing that the reforms would weaken communist control of Czechoslovakia—and possibly other communist countries—the Soviet Union on August 20, 1968, invaded Czechoslovakia and halted the process of liberalization. Dubcek was replaced by Gustav Husak (1913–1991) as the head of the Communist Party, which came to dominate political life once more. However, the country’s poor economic situation during the 1970s and the reforms that took place in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1931) during the late 1980s revitalized the dissident movement. As a result, in December 1989 the parliament elected Vaclav Havel (b. 1936), a dissident and noncommunist, to be the country’s new president. The transition from communism occurred so smoothly and nonviolently that it came to be known as the “Velvet Revolution.” The first democratic elections since 1946 occurred in June 1990, with the majority of seats in parliament won by Havel’s Civic Forum. The new government reintroduced a market economy and accelerated the process of privatization. These policies generated disputes and tensions between Czech and Slovak leaders. Because of economic differences between their two regions, Czechs and Slovaks held conflicting views about the appropriate pace and nature of economic reforms. Throughout the fall of 1992 Czech and Slovak leaders negotiated the details of disbanding the federation. In January 1993 the Czechoslovak federation was replaced by two new independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 1996 the separate Czech Republic held its first parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus’s (b. 1941) center-right coalition lost its majority in the lower house of parliament, and representation by the center-left Czech Social Democratic Party greatly increased. In November 1997 Klaus and his cabinet were forced to resign amid a campaign finance scandal. Milos Zeman (b. 1944), chairman of the Social Democrats, was appointed prime minister and subsequently formed a minority government. Klaus was elected president of the G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

liberalization: the process of lowering trade barriers and tariffs and reducing government economic regulations

dissident: one who disagrees with the actions or political philosophy of his or her government or religion

market economy: an economy with little government ownership and relatively free markets

coalition: an alliance, partnership, or union of disparate peoples or individuals

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■ ■ ■ North Atlantic Treaty Organization: a military alliance chiefly involving the United States and Western Europe that stated that, in the event of an attack, the member countries would have a mutual defense

country in the February 2003 elections. He succeeded Havel, who was barred by the constitution from seeking a third term. Since its creation in 1993, the Czech Republic has experienced remarkable political stability and economic progress. The country was admitted as a full member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1997 and also became a member of the European Union (EU). N AT U R E O F G OV E R N M E N T

The constitution adopted in 1992 established the new Czech Republic as a parliamentary democracy. The Czech Republic has both a president and prime minister. The president acts as the head of the state and is elected for a five-year term. He or she may serve no more than two consecutive terms. The president names the prime minister and under his or her advice also appoints the seventeen members of the cabinet. The prime minister acts as the head of the government and is usually the leader of the party with the majority of seats in parliament. The constitution guarantees the division of the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches. The Czech parliament consists of two chambers: the

The communist rule in Czechoslovakia, in place since the mid-1940s, came to a surprisingly placid conclusion thanks to a movement that came to be known as the “Velvet Revolution.” Leading the political activists for democracy was the Civic Forum movement run by writer Vaclav Havel. (SOURCE: © PETER TURNLEY/CORBIS) CZECHS GATHER DURING THE VELVET REVOLUTION OF 1989.

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Chamber of Deputies (lower house) and Senate (upper house). The Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members, elected to six-year terms. One-third of the Senate seats come up for election every two years. All citizens over the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The federal government of the Czech Republic is responsible for carrying out all executive decisions and actions; it applies the laws and regulations adopted by parliament. The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the Czech Republic. The president of the country appoints Supreme Court judges for unlimited terms. There are also a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Administrative Court, and various regional and district courts. The president appoints fifteen justices to the Constitutional Court to serve ten-year terms. Constitutional Court appointments must be approved by the Senate.

C I T I Z E N S ’ PA R T I C I PA T I O N , R I G H T S , A N D L I B E R T I E S

The Czech Republic is a member of United Nations (UN) and participates in its specialized agencies. The country’s 1992 constitution guarantees human freedoms, rights, and liberties as established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After communism’s collapse in the early 1990s, more than one hundred political parties were registered in the Czech Republic. Forty parties participated in the 1992 elections and twelve won representation in the federal legislature. Another eight parties were registered in the Czech National Council, which became the Czech legislature after the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The largest parties in the Czech Republic are the center-left Czech Social Democratic Party and the center-right Civic Democratic Party. Other parties represented in the Czech parliament include the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, the centrist Christian-Democratic Union-Czech People’s Party, and the conservative Freedom Union. The Czech Constitution forbids the death penalty and guarantees its citizens freedom from torture and illegal imprisonment. Strong evidence exists that rights and liberties are well respected: In its 2003 report Freedom House rated the Czech Republic as one of the world’s free countries, giving it the best possible score of 1 for its protection of political rights and the next best score of 2 for its safeguarding of civil rights and liberties. See also: Havel, Vaclav; Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Czech Republic.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ez.html⬎. Czechoslovakia in Transition. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 1990. Dyba, Karel. The Czech Republic 1990 to 1995: An Economy in Transition. Turin, Italy: Schuster Foundation Press, 1996. Fawn, Rick. The Czech Republic: A Nation of Velvet. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Harwood Academic, 2000. Hol´y, Ladislav. The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation: National Identity and the PostCommunist Transformation of Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. International Monetary Fund. The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic: An Economy in Transition. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 1990.

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International Monetary Fund. Czech Republic. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund, 1995. Myant, Martin R. The Czechoslovak Economy, 1948–1988: The Battle for Economic Reform. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Saxonberg, Steven. The Czech Republic Before the New Millennium: Politics, Parties and Gender. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. U.S. Congress Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Human Rights and Democratization in the Czech Republic. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994.

Bogdan Alex Fratiloiu

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Dahomey See Benin.

Dalai Lama T I B E TA N R E L I G I O U S L E A D E R 1935–

The Dalai Lama traditionally is recognized as the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. He has lived in exile, however, since 1959, when Chinese occupation forces tightened control over his homeland, which they claimed as part of China. Named Lhamo Thondup at his birth in a small village near Tibet’s border with China, as a young child he was recognized as Tibet’s greatest “lama,” or teacher. Later renamed Tenzin Gyatso, he represents the fourteenth incarnation in a series of distinguished predecessors (the first Dalai Lama was born in 1391). Gyatso was only 15 when the Chinese initially occupied his land, but their entry accelerated his confirmation as Tibet’s preeminent religious and political leader. In 1950, fresh from victory in China, Mao Tse-tung’s (1893–1976) communist militias invaded Tibet, which they claimed as their traditional territory. The invaders intended to “liberate” the Tibetan people from an antiquated system of government led by the Dalai Lama, a sizeable monastic sector, and a small aristocracy. Although the Dalai Lama sought common ground rather than conflict with the Chinese, they pressed ahead with efforts to eradicate Tibet’s socioeconomic structure and culture; Mao perceived religion as “poison.” Residents of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, staged nonviolent protests against their Chinese rulers in 1959, triggering a violent crackdown. Fearing for their leader’s safety, the Dalai Lama’s supporters encouraged him to plead Tibet’s case with India. After an arduous trip on horseback, the disguised sage found refuge in Dharamsala, a dilapidated former British colonial holiday resort in India’s Himalayan Mountains, where he established a government in exile. A flood of G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence aristocracy: a ruling financial, social, or political elite eradicate: to destroy or eliminate a population of items, people, or other living things socioeconomic: relating to the traits of income, class, and education sage: a wise person

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Tibetan refugees followed, and the Dalai Lama continued to serve as the revered spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama has received significant media attention for his cause, largely because of his emphasis on peaceful reconciliation with China, the preservation of Tibetan culture and religion, and human rights. For his efforts, the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Nobel committee chairman Egil Aarvik commended the Dalai Lama on his extraordinarily compassionate attitude toward his oppressors. At the awards ceremony, the Dalai Lama said that more than one million Tibetans had died under Chinese rule and more than six thousand monasteries, which he called the seat of Tibet’s peaceful culture, had been destroyed. He noted that Chinese leaders relocated millions of ethnic Chinese settlers to Tibet in

The fourteenth Dalai Lama officially assumed the role of Tibet’s political and temporal leader in 1950 as a fifteen-year-old. He was forced into exile in India when he led a 1959 failed attempt to separate Tibet from Communist-led China. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS) DALAI LAMA VISITS TAIPEI, TAIWAN IN 1997.

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order to establish numerical superiority over the indigenous Tibetan population, thereby practicing what the Dalai Lama called a form of genocide.

■ ■ ■ indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

See also: Aung San Suu Kyi; China (PRC); Gandhi, Mahatma; King Jr., Martin Luther; Political Protest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Avedon, John F. In Exile from the Land of Snows: The Definitive Account of the Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Conquest. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. The Dalai Lama’s Biography. Government of Tibet in Exile. September 9, 2004. ⬍http:// www.tibet.com/DL/biography.html⬎. Frängsmyr, Tore, and Irwin Abrams, eds. “The 14th Dalai Lama—Biography.” Nobel Lectures, Peace 1981–1990. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 1997. ⬍http://nobelprize.org/ peace/laureates/1989/lama-bio.html⬎. Hicks, Roger, and Ngakpa Chogyam. Great Ocean: An Authorized Biography of the Buddhist Monk Tenzin Gyatso His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. New York: Penguin, 1990. Norbu, Dawa. Tibet: The Road Ahead. London: Rider Books, 1998.

Holly Sims

Democracy Democracy originated in ancient Greece. The Greek words demo kratia mean rule or power (kratia) of the common people (demos). For the Greeks, to live in a democracy was to live in a political community (polis, or city-state) characterized by popular rule. Ultimate sovereignty or empowerment was intended to be shared equally among all freeborn citizens of a community. Viewed this way, democracy had—and continues to have—two core meanings. First, it refers to a kind of power or authority exercised equally by all the people of a political community. Second, it refers to a form of government or a particular kind of rule, in contrast to other forms of government such as monarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship, or oligarchy. Democracy is most often viewed as a form of government based on the principle of majority rule. Majority rule is simply a principle of voting, however; popular sovereignty designates that all citizens may participate equally in authorizing public decisions. Ultimately, the justification for democratic rule or government depends on arguing for the validity of popular power. The democratic notion of popular power comes largely from the government of the city-state of Athens during the fifth century B.C.E.. In Athens, all freeborn members of the community regularly participated in public assemblies that deliberated on fundamental questions of war and peace, the distribution of political goods, and the initiation of public projects. Furthermore, the citizens served on juries and in governmental offices. Positions were determined by lottery, not election, because election was considered to be an aristocratic principle. While citizens could expect to serve in government or on a jury at some point in their lives, the central political activity was the process of debate and decision-making in the assembly, known as the ecclesia. Here, all citizens— whatever their wealth or status—had the opportunity to propose policies or decide by majority vote on the arguments of other citizens. This form of democracy excluded women and slaves from citizenship, however—an exclusion that G O V E R N M E N T S

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city-state: a system of government common in ancient Greece, marked by a city with authority over surrounding territory sovereignty: autonomy; or, rule over a political entity aristocracy: a ruling financial, social, or political elite oligarchy: government by a few or an elite ruling class, whose policies are often not in the public interest

deliberate: to present contradicting arguments and choose a common course of action based upon them, or, characterized by such careful discussion

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■ ■ ■ arbitrary: capricious, random, or changing without notice

would not be addressed until the eighteenth century, when political thinkers began to view democratic popular sovereignty as a matter of equal human rights, rather than membership in a political community. Early arguments against democracy have continued into the twenty-first century. The Greek philosopher Plato (428–348 or 347 B.C.E.) argued that democracy depended on the rule of the lowest of the passions and would lead to arbitrariness in legislation. He further claimed that political rule was a technical skill, and that democracy falsely assumed that all citizens were equally capable of judging good laws when in fact only some had this capability. Although Plato’s student, Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.), was more generous in his assessment, he also believed that democracy tended toward arbitrary decisions of the majority. Furthermore, because Aristotle felt that democracy represented the rule of the poor over the wealthy, he thought it would result in unjust downward distribution of wealth. He also objected to giving sovereignty to those citizens who were unable to deliberate on public matters or who lacked self-control to act ethically. Both philosophers assumed that the equal claim of citizens to govern their own political community conflicted with the fact that human beings were fundamentally unequal in political ability, moral character, and wealth. This negative view of democracy was not systematically challenged until the eighteenth century, with the publication of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s (1712–1778) Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (1754) and his Social Contract (1762). In the first work, Rousseau demonstrates that social and political inequality result from laws and custom rather than from human nature. In Social Contract, he argues that every person is equally capable of participating in policy discussions and of legislating on behalf of the whole political community. Rousseau proposed a model for creating a democratic authority in which all people can participate as citizens: the general will. For Rousseau, the general will arises when citizens mutually and equally agree to create an authority that will decide on the laws to be imposed on the political community. What renders this authority democratic is that all of the people are full and equal participants who regularly assemble and debate legislation. In this political community, all of the citizens who voted on the laws would be the same people as the subjects who obeyed those laws. Consequently, all citizens would be equal as well as free. Such a democratic authority would seek to attain the common or public good, because the only laws it would consider would have to apply to all of the people as equals. Rousseau insisted that large inequalities of wealth or power in society would necessarily diminish, because such inequalities would undermine the equality of influence that each citizen exercised in the assembly. Having refuted many of the arguments of anti-democratic critics, Rousseau claimed that through a republican form of government based on the general will, democracy as the rule of the people, or popular sovereignty, would be fully realized. Critics of Rousseau have often claimed that, whatever the merits of his account of democratic authority, his argument depends upon a small community in which citizens can regularly meet in face-to-face discussion. Defenders argue, however, that this claim does not alter the fact that Rousseau provides one of the few arguments justifying democracy in its root meanings: as popular power and rule of the people.

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From the eighteenth century into the mid-twentieth century, democracy came to be argued not simply as a matter of legitimate popular power but also as a matter of individual rights. Democratic citizenship was now derived from the claim that

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human beings have certain inalienable rights regardless of the society in which they live. Among the many arguments of this kind, the most influential include the Declaration of Independence (1776), arising from the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), arising out of the French Revolution (1789–1799). In the latter document, Rousseau argued that every citizen not only should have a “right to participate personally, or through his representative,” in the general will, but also that all human beings have a natural right to “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” Therefore, a democratic nation had to secure for its members not only political rights of participation, but also basic human rights, such as the demand for due process and a presumption of innocence in legal proceedings, the rights of free speech and association, and the right to be free of governmental interference in private life. Both of these sets of rights had to be embodied in a constitution limiting the reach of government while ensuring participation for all citizens. One consequence of connecting the notion of democracy as popular power or sovereignty with the new concept of constitutionally guaranteed civil and political “rights” was that democracy could now be practiced in a large nation-state, not just in a small community of citizens meeting face to face. One new question this idea raised, however, was whether popular rule required more active forms of citizen participation than merely electing representatives to a congress or parliament. A second consequence was that this democratic ideal provided groups and classes in all European nations with grounds to demand political equality as the equal right to vote in elections for parliaments and governments. This struggle for universal suffrage encompassed more than voting rights, however; it also included a demand for equal standing and dignity for all people as citizens of a democratic state. It was the beginning of a struggle to achieve social and economic equality, including redistribution of wealth and the abolition of unequal social status based on birth, education, race, or gender. For this reason, many of the famous classical liberals of the nineteenth century, such as John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), resisted allowing the lower classes to have full voting rights. Curiously, as suffrage was extended to all genders and classes in most industrial countries—and as constitutional democracies came to be characterized by competing parties, representative institutions, and periodic elections—most

■ ■ ■ inalienable right: a right that cannot be taken away

natural right: a basic privilege intrinsic to all people that cannot be denied by the government

nation-state: a relatively homogeneous state with only one or few nationalities within its political borders

suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

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JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712–1778) In his writings, considered unconventional at the time, Franco-Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau advocated a restoration of humankind’s emotional and passionate side, which he felt had been lost in modern society. His ideas helped usher in an era of nineteenth-century romanticism in both literature and philosophy. Rousseau was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, although his mother died in childbirth and his father later placed him in the care of a pastor. At the age of thirteen, he became an engraver’s apprentice but, when his father remarried, Rousseau left Geneva and found a new protector in the Baronne de Warens, who sent him to Turin where he studied music and religion. By the time he was thirty, Rousseau had

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settled in Paris and joined a group of intellectuals dubbed the “Philosophes,” whose ideas were published in the French arts, sciences, and crafts Encyclopédie. Rousseau first gained recognition for his Discourse on the Arts and Sciences (1750), in which he argued that “progress” in the arts and sciences had corrupted man and given governments more authority at the expense of individual liberty. He also argued that sincere friendships could not exist in a material society because such a society turned on jealousy, fear, and suspicion. His writings also influenced modern educational theory. In one essay Rousseau advocated tending to a child’s emotions before trying to teach academic subjects.

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IN MIAMI, FLORIDA, PEOPLE VOTE AT ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES DURING THE 2004 ELECTIONS. Absentee ballots completed via mail were available to voters in the

United States if they anticipated an inability to participate in Election Day in person. (SOURCE: © GARY I ROTHSTEIN/REUTERS/CORBIS)

liberals came to embrace democracy as a way to contain popular sentiments. Moreover, instead of enhancing direct participation, modern political parties created a buffer between politicians and citizens. Indeed, in what became known in the twentieth century as “modern liberal democracies,” the fundamental struggles over democratic rights centered less around direct participation and more around the attempts of labor parties (and some liberal parties) to expand the principle of political equality into social equality. Thus, parties of the

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labor classes (or in America, parties of both the working and middle classes) sought to introduce numerous social services such as public housing, national health care, national pensions, equal access to higher education, and income supports. Social services were now viewed as democratic rights, similar to the right to vote or the right to associate or utter one’s opinion in public. Opponents of this extension of democratic rights sought to limit the expansion of government-provided social services. They maintained that the market, not democratic governments, should decide the distribution of goods and income. M O D E R N C O N C E P T S O F D E M O C R A C Y: E L I T I S M A N D PA R T I C I PA T I O N

As mass politics became the norm in the mid-twentieth century, an influential group of theorists shifted the definition of democracy so that it might be made compatible with rule by the elite. The most famous statement of this “new” theory of democracy comes from the economist Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) in Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy: “the democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote” (Schumpeter 1950, p. 269). Under this new definition, “the reins of government should be handed to those who command more support than do any of the competing individuals or teams” (Schumpeter 1950, p. 273). This definition sounds innocent enough, but in the name of providing a “realistic” notion of democracy it abandons as outdated three of the essential features of the concept: political equality, the self-government of citizens, and any notion of a common good. It also substitutes a static competition among the elite for the dynamic conflict of groups and classes trying to expand political rights into social rights. Above all, it believes that citizens are too irrational to participate in directing their government, instead treating democracy as a means to cultivate political leaders through elite competition. This definition was later modified by pluralist theorists of democracy, who agreed that most democratic politics involved the competition between members of the elite, but added that interest groups also influenced the decision-making process. In both cases, civil rights of free speech, free assembly, privacy, and the political right to vote were seen simply as means to help promote competition. Proponents of this elitist concept of democracy justified it by claiming that it was realistic and efficient. There would always be a division of labor between professional politicians and citizens, they argued, and so the best solution would be to cultivate competition among members of the political elite. Citizens, to be sure, could still exercise some control over government by voting parties out of government. Apart from that, however, they claimed that most citizens would rather spend their lives pursuing their own private goals rather than participating in politics. This elitist conception evolved into the contemporary standard definition of democracy. It also is the model to which politicians, commentators, and political scientists typically refer when they describe the process of “democratization” in foreign countries. Critics have questioned whether participation in periodic voting for representatives and competing parties, combined with constitutional guarantees of civil liberties, is enough to call a regime a democracy. Popular rule seems to have been reduced to the occasional veto of candidates and parties by voters. This limited sovereignty denies citizens the opportunity to develop the political skills that are necessary to enjoy political freedom. Worse yet, this model allows those with superior political resources to have greater influence on political decisions than do ordinary citizens. G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ pluralism: a system of government in which all groups participate in the decision-making process

democratization: a process by which the powers of government are moved to the people of a region or to their elected representatives regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

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■ ■ ■

JOHN STUART MILL (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill promoted liberal, empiricist ideas throughout nineteenthcentury Britain through his essays and books. Mill was one of the most influential social thinkers of the nineteenth century. Mill was born in London and educated by his father, historian and economist James Mill, and his father’s good friend, the utilitarian theorist Jeremy Bentham. As a child he learned Greek, French, and Latin and read English history books. He also studied political economy, philosophy, chemistry, and law. Around 1822 Mill began working as a junior clerk at the East India Company. He worked his way into management

■ ■ ■ marginalize: to move to the outer borders, or to move one to a lower position

authoritarianism: the domination of the state or its leader over individuals

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and stayed until the 1850s. In his spare time Mill penned essays for local papers. In 1865 Mill won election to Parliament and served one term. He was considered a radical because he supported compulsory education, birth control, women’s suffrage, the right of labor to organize, and the idea that the people should own all natural resources. Probably Mill’s best known work is On Liberty (1859). This treatise promoted and defended freedom of the individual over the state’s right to enforce control through lawmaking. Mill favored the harm principle, which held that citizens should be free to do whatever they want as long as it does not harm others.

To overcome these defects, participatory critics of the elitist democracy have proposed a variety of alternative models to recover democracy as popular power over government. One proposal is to extend democracy into the workplace, giving employees control over management and management decisions. A second proposal is to make local government more democratic by creating local neighborhood assemblies in which citizens can meet, discuss, and come to agreement on proposals to solve local problems. A third proposal has been called deliberative democracy and involves reviving the role of public opinion. This approach seeks to turn public opinion from a passive, reactive process that is managed by parties and governments to an active debate in which the strongest arguments prevail. A fourth approach is to strengthen the representation of groups that are regularly excluded from majority decisions, including those that have been marginalized due to race, ethnicity, or gender. A fifth approach is to view popular sovereignty or power as something that cannot be embodied in government at all; rather, it must be continually asserted through public protests seeking to extend the rights of citizens. More recently, the organization of citizen networks through the Internet has produced new forms of democratic political involvement. Thus, modern democratic politics is characterized by an unresolved tension between democracy’s original meaning as demokratia, or popular power and rule, and the organization of modern democratic states in which there is a division of labor between rulers and the ruled. Although competition between professional politicians and parties for the popular vote characterizes what modern democracy, the justification for this form of government still rests on its original definition: the authority exercised by equal citizens when they deliberate and direct the government in light of their best understanding of the public good at that moment. Therefore, one should be skeptical when commentators, politicians, or political scientists claim that the West has achieved “democracy,” or that “democratization” has been achieved in other countries when states are able to change governments through mass elections. Competitive party democracy with limited constitutional government and specified civil rights still protects freedom more than authoritarian regimes do. At best, however, modern democracy represents the unceasing struggle engaged in by citizens to achieve popular rule. G O V E R N M E N T S

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See also: Liberal Democracy; Oligarchy; Popular Sovereignty; Republic. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arblaster, Anthony. Democracy, 2d ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994. Aristotle. The Politics, trans. C.D.C. Reeve. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 1998. Dahl, Robert A. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956. Dahl, Robert A. A Preface to Economic Democracy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985. “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789.” In The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, ed. Lynn Hunt. Bedford: St Martin’s, 1996. Dunn, John, ed. Democracy: The Unfinished Journey, 508 BC to AD 1993. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1994. Finley, M.I. Democracy Ancient and Modern (Mason Welch Gross Lectureship Series), 2d ed. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1985. Habermas, Jårgen. “Three Normative Models of Democracy.” Constellations 1, 1 (1994):1–10. Held, David. Models of Democracy, 2d ed. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997. Macpherson, C.B. The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1979. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “Discourse On the Origins of Inequality.” In Basic Political Writings, trans. and ed. Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 1987. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “On the Social Contract.” In Basic Political Writings, trans. and ed. Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 1987. Schumpeter, Joseph Alois. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 3rd ed. New York: Harper, 1950.

Peter Breiner

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea See Korea, North.

Democratic Republic of Congo See Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire).

Denmark The Kingdom of Denmark is located at the northern end of the European continental mainland, between the North and Baltic Seas. Denmark’s history has been closely intertwined with its Scandinavian neighbors, Sweden, and Norway, as well as with Germany, its neighbor to the south. Small in area G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ maritime: relating to the sea or the coast

homogeneous: simple; consisting of components that are identical or similar imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion political autonomy: the state of a country or region within a country that holds sovereignty over its own affairs

absolutism: a way of governing, usually monarchic, that reflects complete control and an unwillingness to compromise or deviate from dogma or principles

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(43,094 square kilometers; 16,634 square miles, or about twice the size of Massachusetts) and relatively flat (its highest point is fewer than 200 meters, or approximately 650 feet, above sea level), Denmark consists of the Jutland Peninsula, the two large islands Funen and Zealand (which contain the Copenhagen metropolitan region), and dozens of smaller inhabited islands. No Dane lives more than about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) from the sea. Its population was just over 5.4 million in 2004. Like its geography, Denmark’s climate is maritime, with moderate temperatures but with frequent showers and occasional thunderstorms. At the center of northern Europe, Denmark’s history, economy, and politics have been influenced as much by external as by internal events. Denmark emerged as a loose confederation of Viking kingdoms in the tenth century. Eventually, dynastic ties and political ambitions brought Norway, Iceland—and briefly Sweden—under the Danish crown. Medieval holdings in England were lost while gains were made along the Baltic coast. Denmark was the dominant power in the loose Scandinavian union that was established at the end of the fourteenth century, known as the Kalmar Union. Its power increased in the following centuries, but it never went unchallenged by its neighbors, first by the German Hanseatic League (led by the city of Lubeck) and then increasingly by Sweden, which broke definitively from the union in 1521. By the middle of the seventeenth century, Denmark was in continuous retreat as Swedish, Russian, and Prussian power rose in northern Europe. Norway was lost in 1814, and after 1864 the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were incorporated into the newly united Germany. The latter event brought a significant number of Danes under German rule, but shortly after World War I (1914–1918), the northern third of Schleswig (Slesvig) was returned to Denmark in 1920 under referendums supervised by the victorious western Allies. Denmark’s sole remaining tropical colony, the Virgin Islands, was sold to the United States in 1917. Iceland’s independence, which was received in stages, was completed by 1944. By the mid-twentieth century, Denmark was a highly homogeneous small country, with only its north Atlantic territories (Greenland and the Faeroe Islands) serving as a reminder of its modest imperial past. The Faeroes and Greenland received political autonomy in 1947 and 1978, respectively.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

As an ancient realm, Denmark has experienced many forms of government. The feudal monarchy consisted of a nominally elected ( but usually hereditary) king, who shared power with the principal nobles in the Privy Council (Rigsråd). This arrangement gave way in the seventeenth century to a rigidly absolutist monarchy formalized by the Royal Act of 1665. The king was the sole political authority until the adoption of Denmark’s first modern constitution in 1849. In practice, the absolute monarchs varied greatly in their governing ability, and all of them relied on a growing corps of civil servants to manage the realm. The late eighteenth century saw a series of reforms in agriculture, including the abolishment of serfdom in 1788; social welfare reforms in 1799; and education reforms in 1814. In 1834 the king permitted “advisory” regional assemblies; consequently, when parliament was established in 1849, the foundations for broad political participation had already been laid. Although the 1849 Constitution was one of the most liberal in Europe at the time because it allowed all male citizens to vote for members of the lower house of parliament (known as the Folketing) the struggle for true parliamentary democracy continued until G O V E R N M E N T S

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1901, when King Christian IX (1818–1906) accepted the principle of parliamentary supremacy. Every subsequent government has rested on the support of a parliamentary majority. New constitutions, which gave women full suffrage in 1915 and abolished the upper house of parliament (known as the Landsting) in 1953, completed the nation’s democratic development. As a consequence of democratic reforms, the power of the monarchy has steadily declined over the past 150 years. Denmark remains a constitutional monarchy, with female heirs now inheriting the throne just as males have traditionally done. The political power of the monarch is symbolic and representative, but a few carefully chosen words by the monarch can shape public opinion and remind politicians of their responsibilities. The royal family, headed by Queen Margrethe II (b. 1940), enjoys broad popularity.

■ ■ ■ suffrage: to vote, or, the right to vote

POLITICAL LIFE

Modern Danish democracy consists of a multiparty parliamentary system, with elections held at least every four years. Given the generous proportional representation electoral system (i.e., parties are represented in proportion to their share of the votes cast once they exceed a 2 percent threshold), typically six to ten parties are represented in the 179-seat parliament. The result is that all governments (consisting of the prime minister and the cabinet) are either formal coalitions of several parties or, occasionally, single-party minority governments that rely on issue-by-issue support from several other parties in parliament. This G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ unicameral: comprised of one chamber, usually a legislative body

appellate: a court having jurisdiction to review the findings of lower courts

judicial review: the ability of the judicial branch to review and invalidate a law that contradicts the constitution

referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected leaders or public initiative ombudsman: a government official that researches the validity of complaints and reports his findings to an authority

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diversity has bred a political culture of compromise, in which most decisions are negotiated in advance and receive broad parliamentary support. It is common for a government to collaborate with one set of parties on domestic issues such as education, and to join with a different group of parties on international issues such as foreign policy. The focus of political power is the Danish unicameral parliament (the Folketing). The body’s 175 members are elected in multimember constituencies in Denmark proper, with two members elected from each of the North Atlantic constituencies of Greenland and the Faeroe Islands. The Folketing convenes annually in early October; most of the autumn session focuses on the national budget, which must be passed by the end of the year. The parliament usually recesses in early June, with a brief session in late August to receive the government’s budgetary proposals. Most of the parliament’s work is done in committee, with nearly thirty standing committees corresponding to various ministries and major policy areas. Most committee meetings are closed to facilitate bargaining and compromise. Major legislative proposals, as well as reports by ministers, are also debated on the floor of parliament. Ministers must respond to a continual flow of formal interpellations and less formal questions. In addition to parliamentary control, the 1953 Constitution stipulates several checks and balances. First, an independent judiciary interprets the laws. Eightytwo local (municipal) courts, two appellate courts, and the Supreme Court constitute the main judicial institutions. The national ministry of justice handles all prosecutions. Jury trials are used in serious criminal cases, with lesser cases typically tried by a judge assisted by two lay assessors (judges). There is no separate constitutional court. Although judicial review rarely challenges the constitutionality of laws, the courts have become more assertive in reviewing administrative actions and the compatibility of Danish laws with international treaty obligations. Particularly, the laws of the European Union (EU) have challenged domestic legislation and practice. Denmark is also committed to supporting the consensus of various international and European conventions on human rights, refugee policies, and other controversial issues; these positions sometimes trigger domestic political disputes. In addition, the constitution allows referendums to challenge parliamentary decisions in several areas: general legislation, except tax and budgetary matters, which has only happened once (in 1963); constitutional amendments, when a referendum is required; changes in voting age; and succession of powers to international organizations such as the EU, the subject of six referendums since 1972. There is no power of legislative initiative by referendum. Finally the office of the ombudsman (parliamentary commissioner)—borrowed from Sweden— reviews the diligence and legality of civil servants in response to citizens’ complaints, media reports, or its own initiative. Frequent elections and governmental changes have limited the domination of political personalities since 1945. No one has had the stature of Thorvald Stauning (1873–1942), who served as the nation’s first Social Democratic prime minister in 1924 and then governed continuously from 1929 until 1942 (during the German occupation). Several other notable personalities have led Denmark since the end of World War II (1939–1945), including Social Democrat Jens Otto Krag (1915–1978) who served in several cabinets and as prime minister from 1962 to 1968 and again from 1971 to 1972. Krag brought Denmark into the EU in 1972. Although Poul Schluter (b. 1929) was the only Conservative prime minister of the twentieth century, serving from 1982 to 1993, his coalition instituted several major reforms. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Local Government. Danish democracy builds upon the strong traditions of local governments, which are elected countrywide every four years. Following a major consolidation in 1970, their numbers were greatly reduced. In 2004, Denmark had thirteen counties and 271 municipalities, each with elected councils. The governments of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg (a borough within Copenhagen), as well as the island of Bornholm, function as both county and city government. Local governments raise most of their revenue by levying income taxes, which are integrated at all three levels into a single rate and filing process, but they also receive significant block grants from the national government to distribute revenue more equitably between wealthy and poor regions. Local and county governments spend nearly 60 percent of all government monies and are subject to national policy guidelines, which reflects their responsibility for financially supporting health care, social welfare, and primary and secondary education. In 2004 a narrow parliamentary majority agreed to further consolidate the counties into five large regions. Plans were set in motion to reduce the number of municipalities to a more sustainable number, to be determined by 2007. Proportional representation allows most major national parties to participate in local government, although occasionally local parties gain representation. Similar to the national government, most municipal and county governments work through coalitions. Denmark has a state-supported church, and nearly 90 percent of all Danes are at least nominally Lutheran. Denmark has become a highly secular society in which formal religious observance has declined, but freedom of religion is protected by the constitution.

P O L I T I C A L PA R T I C I PA T I O N

Danish political life is focused on political parties. Its permissive proportional representation system ensures that nearly every party is able to achieve the minimum 2 percent of votes necessary for parliamentary representation. Although relatively few Danes belong to a political party, voting is considered a civic responsibility. In the twenty national elections held between 1950 and 2005, average voting turnout exceeded 85 percent of the eligible voters. Between 1953 and 1978, the voting age was reduced in stages, from twenty-three years of age to eighteen. Since 1973, typically eight to ten parties have been represented in parliament. Women now make up nearly 40 percent of the members of parliament, and they have served as cabinet ministers since the 1920s. Denmark’s main political divisions are along socioeconomic lines, although urban-rural and environmental issues are sometimes significant as well. During the past eighty years, Danish party politics has been loosely divided into socialist and nonsocialist blocs of roughly equal size. The main socialist party has been the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne), a reformist, pro-labor movement closely tied to the labor unions. They had drawn about 40 percent of the vote in most elections held before the 1970s, when their electoral share declined by roughly a third. To the left of the Social Democrats have been a variety of radical socialist parties, including the communists, who were a significant force only in the immediate post–World War II period. Other radical socialist parties survived into the early twenty-first century, managing to attract from 10 to 15 percent of the vote. One such party, the Social People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti), occasionally supports Social Democratic initiatives, but it has never been a reliable coalition partner. The nonsocialist group is even more complex. The Conservatives (Konservative Folkeparti) and the Liberals (Venstre) have been competitive G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ socioeconomic: relating to the traits of income, class, and education socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods bloc: a group of countries or individuals working toward a common goal, usually within a convention or other political body communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence

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■ ■ ■ nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

populist: someone who advocates policies for the advancement of the common man

welfare state: a political state that assumes liability for the wellbeing of its people through government-run social programs

allies since 1945. The Conservatives have managed to break their ties to nineteenth-century antidemocratic forces, supporting business and finance as well as traditional nationalist and pro-defense groups. The Liberals evolved from rural, pro-democracy forces and traditionally had been seen more as an agrarian than a liberal party. As the farming population declined radically after World War II, however, the Liberals built up a base of support in urban areas as a broad middle-class party. Although the two parties compete for many of the same voters, they have worked well together in governing coalitions since November 2001. The center has been composed of several small parties, most prominent of which are the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), which broke off from the Liberals in 1905. Composed of smallholders (farmers) and urban intellectuals, this unlikely group has had a profound impact on Danish politics because its central position on many issues has allowed it to influence policies in both socialist and nonsocialist governments. It has had some competition from other centrist parties, such as the Center Democrats, although this party has weakened significantly since the 1990s. The far right was insignificant until the 1970s, when a flamboyant lawyer, Mogens Glistrup (b. 1926), organized a populist antitax and antigovernment Progress Party (Fremskridtspartiet). In 1973 it entered parliament as the second-largest party on a wave of protest votes. Glistrup’s legal problems (he was convicted and imprisoned for tax evasion) pushed him off the political stage; the party weakened steadily thereafter, but it remains a sharp critic of the political establishment. In the 1990s the right once again flourished on a program of anti-immigration. The Progress Party was replaced by the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti), which captured over 12 percent of the vote. More significantly, it supported the nonsocialist coalition government with a working parliamentary majority on a wide range of policies. In addition to an array of parties, Denmark enjoys a vigorous civic culture, with nearly 90 percent of the labor force represented by labor unions, professional associations, or interest groups. Cultural, sports, and political societies are numerous. Moreover, Danes perceive democracy as extending beyond formal constitutional rights and participation. A comprehensive welfare state provides a host of public services and social security to the population and serves to minimize poverty, exclusion, and extreme inequalities. Although the taxes necessary to support these programs are high (taxes and fees are about 50 percent of the gross domestic product), all citizens enjoy medical care, pensions, income security, and education at minimal personal cost. These policies rest on a broad political consensus; the various parties may differ on specific priorities but all of them agree on the principle that Danish democracy and equality should include economic and social as well as political affairs.

D E M O C R AT I C P R O S P E C T S

Danish democracy has evolved over 150 years through compromise and experimentation. Although enjoying broad popular support, it faces some significant challenges. First, Denmark has an uneasy alliance with the EU. Even after thirty years of membership, Danes remain skeptical of EU governance and ambitions. In general, Danes support the broad economic ties that have allowed their economy to hold and gain markets across the continent. Although they do not reject pragmatic cooperation in economic and other policy areas, Danes are anxious to preserve their national identity and democratic institutions.

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Therefore, they are reluctant to surrender political power to the EU, even on such issues as a common currency (the euro). Second, Denmark has struggled to accommodate a significant influx of nonEuropean immigrants over the past quarter century. Most of these “new Danes” are Muslims, some of whom have difficulty assimilating into a secular, technologically advanced, and egalitarian society. After a century of exceptional ethnic homogeneity, modern Denmark has become multiethnic. Finding a balance between humane and fair immigration policy and effective social integration is perhaps Denmark’s most pressing domestic issue. Finally, the Danes’ beloved welfare state faces real economic challenges from an aging society and the expansion of costly programs (especially health care). Danish prosperity depends heavily on European and foreign markets. Despite the consensus that supports high-quality public programs, Danes will likely be forced to accept reforms and innovations. Democracies do not always relish such disruption, but no other political system has been more successful than Denmark’s at adapting to change.

Upon the death of her father, Frederick IX, in 1972, Queen Margrethe II was able to ascend the throne in Denmark due to constitutional changes in 1953 allowing female heirs to the throne. (SOURCE: © AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS) DENMARK’S QUEEN MARGRETHE II AND HER HUSBAND PRINCE HENRIK, EN ROUTE TO THE ROYAL THEATER IN COPENHAGEN IN 2004.

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See also: Constitutional Monarchy; European Union; Germany; Norway; Ombudsmen; Parliamentary System; Sweden.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “Denmark.” CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/da.html⬎. Denmark.dk: Official Website. ⬍http://www.denmark.dk⬎. Derry, Thomas. K. A History of Scandinavia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979. Einhorn, Eric S., and John Logue. Modern Welfare States: Scandinavian Politics and Policy in the Global Age, 2d ed. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood, 2003. Einhorn, Eric S., and John Logue. “Scandinavian Political Statistics.” In Modern Welfare States: Scandinavian Politics and Policy in the Global Age, 2d ed. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. ⬍http://www.scanpol.kent.edu⬎. Einhorn, Eric S., and John Logue. “Scandinavia; Still the Middle Way?” In Europe Today, 2d ed., ed. Ronald Tiersky, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004. Nordstrom, Byron J. Scandinavia Since 1500. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. Royal Danish Consulate General: New York. ⬍http://www.denmark.org⬎.

Eric S. Einhorn

Dictatorship

■ ■ ■ magistrate: an official with authority over a government, usually a judicial official with limited jurisdiction over criminal cases absolute: complete, pure, free from restriction or limitation

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The term “dictatorship” has a long history, encompassing a wide array of polities—empires, states, nations, and the like. Used extensively since ancient times, the term is derived from the word “dictate,” which means to command expressly; to impose or give orders with or as with authority; to give orders or instructions arbitrarily. The word “dictate” has its root in the Latin word dictatum (plural, dictata), meaning things dictated, lessons, or commands. In ancient Rome, an official known as a dictator (meaning commander) was appointed as magistrate by the Senate in times of emergency or crisis and invested with absolute authority. This is the historical source for the English word “dictator,” meaning a ruler who has absolute power and unlimited authority. Dictatorship thus refers to the position or office of a dictator; a dictatorial government; a state ruled by a dictator; absolute power or authority. Various synonyms for the words dictator and dictatorship include: autocrat, despot, tyrant, and oligarch for the former; and autocracy, despotism, tyranny, and oligarchy for the latter. Autocracies, despotisms, tyrannies, and oligarchies are authoritarian systems. These systems are characterized by unquestioning obedience to authority. Their most extreme type is sometimes referred to as “totalitarian.” The hallmark of totalitarianism is a government or state in which one political party or group exercises complete control and refuses to recognize, and consequently suppresses, individuals or political parties or groups perceived as actual or potential foes. G O V E R N M E N T S

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Characteristically, dictatorships, whether ancient or modern, operate free of the kind of constitutional limitations that are encountered in democratic societies; that is, their powers are absolute, unchecked either by formal rules or public opinion, or by sensibilities having to do with civil liberties or human rights. Modern dictators are more like ancient tyrants (who ruled by brute force) than ancient dictators (who, as in ancient Rome, often ruled legitimately with Senate approval in times of emergency or crisis). Modern dictators, however, bent on the exercise of despotic power, are apt to rely on outright force or fraud to gain and retain their position. In countries with access to advanced communications technologies, modern dictators often employ strategies of mass propaganda to mobilize popular support. Modern dictatorship reached its zenith in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, inspired by the decline and eventual disappearance of monarchies that were based on the principle of hereditary descent. The political void created by the eclipse of monarchical rule was filled throughout the world by one of two principal forms of governance: either constitutional democracy (as in the United States and Great Britain) or dictatorship (as in the Soviet Union, dominated for a quarter of a century by Russian leader Joseph Stalin [1879–1953], or in Nazi Germany, ruled by dictator Adolf Hitler [1889–1945] from 1933 to 1945).

■ ■ ■ monarchical: of or relating to a monarchy

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The word “dictatorship” resonates also in modern political ideology: on the right, in fascism and on the left, in Marxism. In the former, for example, the German word führerprinzip,—meaning leadership principle—was invoked with great ruthlessness and brutality by Hitler in Nazi Germany. Marxism includes the concept of a “dictatorship of the proletariat,” the economic and social class consisting of industrial workers who derive their income solely from their own labor. The German philosopher Karl Marx (1818–1883) posited that the proletarian class would rule over society during the transitional phase between the abolition of capitalism and the establishment of communism. Marx expected that in the transitional phase, which he referred to as socialism, the proletariat would suppress the resistance of the previously dominant class, the bourgeoisie, to the socialist revolution; destroy the social relations of production underlying the class system; and usher in a new classless society, which he referred to as communism. In the Soviet Union, which was established after the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917, Marx’s notion of the proletariat as a dictatorial class was displaced by Russian politician Vladimir Lenin’s (1870–1924) idea of a single political party, the Bolsheviks, who claimed to represent the proletariat and ruled society dictatorially. The dominance of overlapping state and Communist Party apparatuses in the Soviet Union was promoted by a strict application of Leninist ideological and organizational principles, emphasizing tight control by the political center.

ideology: a system of beliefs composed of ideas or values, from which political, social, or economic programs are often derived

communism: an economic and social system characterized by the absence of class structure and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence socialism: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods bourgeoisie: the economic middle class marked by wealth earned through business or trade

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Over the last two centuries, dictatorships have assumed different forms at different times around the world. In the nineteenth century in Latin America, dictatorships arose in the aftermath of Spanish and Portuguese rule. The collapse of central colonial authority throughout the region and the ensuing G O V E R N M E N T S

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■ ■ ■ proliferate: to grow in number; to multiply at a high rate

nationalism: the belief that one’s nation or culture is superior to all others

proliferation of new independent states lent strong encouragement to dictatorship. The era of rule by caudillos, or self-proclaimed leaders, had begun. Typically, a caudillo rose to power in a postcolonial state in nineteenthcentury Latin America as the leader of a private army or militia. Most of these dictators managed to secure their political base in one region of the country before seizing power from a weak national government. Twentieth-century Latin American dictators were usually of a different type, however. Unlike their caudillo predecessors, most twentieth-century LatinAmerican dictators were national leaders from the outset. Moreover, whereas the caudillos began by building their political power around relatively small local private armies or militias, the dictators who followed them were usually military officers aligned with highly nationalistic officer cohorts in the national army. A notable example was Juan Perón, in Argentina. Throughout the twentieth century, many Latin-American dictators drawn from the military establishment forged political alliances with key social classes on the political right or left. Indebted to those classes, the dictators often supported either the conservative, often reactionary, interests of wealthy, privileged elites, or promoted the progressive, sometimes radical, social reforms espoused by trade union interests and the national intelligentsia.

D I C TA T O R S H I P I N A F R I C A A N D A S I A imperialism: extension of the control of one nation over another, especially through territorial, economic, and political expansion

indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region institutionalism: a focus on the importance and role of the organization, especially a religious organization, in public and private matters

Yet another pattern of dictatorship is discernible in postcolonial Africa and Asia. Following World War II (1939–1945), the European imperialist powers—Great Britain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain—began a retreat from Africa and Asia that was destined to take a half-century to complete. In the vacuum created by decolonization, there emerged new states—many of which were ruled by indigenous dictators and their allies drawn from among members of nationalist political parties and the social and economic elite. The imperialist powers usually attempted to ease the transition to independence of their colonial territories by transplanting the institutionalism of European parliamentary democracy based on constitutional norms. But in most cases, that approach failed. The collapse of constitutional arrangements imposed by the former colonial powers afforded an opportunity for new indigenous dictators to take control. A strong middle-class foundation for democratic constitutionalism was lacking in postcolonial Africa and Asia. Traditional local autocracies persisted in most of the newly independent states. Elected presidents and prime ministers, many of whom were charismatic, had little difficulty accumulating power from former anticolonial nationalist movements that had been transformed into ruling nationalist political parties. Drawing strength from such parties, ambitious political leaders quickly assumed the role of dictator. They maintained their positions by adopting selfserving ideologies that claimed popular support for frequently dubious national goals, and by suppressing opposition political parties and independent trade unions. One such dictator was Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, formerly the British Gold Coast colony. In more than a few instances, national armies in Africa and Asia seized power from corrupt elected civilian governments and proceeded to establish military dictatorships. Some military dictatorships had short lives; others, as in Nigeria and Pakistan, held power for decades.

C O M PA R I N G D I C TA T O R S H I P S

Dictatorships emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively, in Latin America and postcolonial Africa and Asia in countries marked by low levels of technological and material development. By contrast,

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during the first half of the twentieth century, communist and fascist dictatorships arose in countries that were far more developed, most notably Russia and Germany. The dictatorial regimes in communist Russia and fascist Nazi Germany also differed from those in Latin America and postcolonial Africa and Asia in the scope of their authoritarianism. In both communist Russia and fascist Nazi Germany, the state quickly came to be identified with a single mass party and individual; the former with the Lenin and then with Stalin, and the latter with Hitler. Moreover, a well-developed ideology was employed in both cases to legitimize the regime and suppress all dissent and stifle all opposition to the dictator and his ruling cohort. Both communist Russia and fascist Nazi Germany employed genocide against targeted racial, religious, and ethnic groups in pursuit of ideological, political, and economic goals: Hitler’s Third Reich and its supporters throughout Nazi-occupied Europe unleashed the Holocaust against European Jewry and other groups, and the Soviet government executed a large percentage of the relatively prosperous Ukrainian Kulak peasantry. Finally, unlike in nineteenth-century Latin America and postcolonial Africa and Asia in the second half of the twentieth century, in the first half of the twentieth century communist rule in the newly founded Soviet Union and Nazi hegemony in Germany both relentlessly mobilized modern science and technology to wrest control of the nation’s economy and work force. Following World War II, communist dictatorships established in Eastern Europe, China, and other countries emulated the Soviet model. A communist dictatorship ruled over the Soviet Union for seven decades until its collapse in the early 1990s. After four decades in power, by the early 1990s communist dictatorships also had fallen in the Soviet-satellite countries in Eastern Europe. Presently, one-party communist dictatorships survive in only a few countries— Cambodia, China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam—testifying to history having delivered a stern rebuke to the legitimacy of authoritarian communist rule.

■ ■ ■ regime: a type of government, or, the government in power in a region

hegemony: the complete dominance of one group or nation over another

■ ■ ■

K WA M E N K R U M A H ( 1 9 0 9 – 1 9 7 2 ) Ghana’s first president was born Francis Nwia-Kofi Ngonloma in Nkroful, in what was then the Britishcontrolled Gold Coast. Educated to be a teacher, Nkrumah traveled to the United States to attend Lincoln University (B.A. 1939) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.S. 1942, M.A. 1943) to study politics and education. In England in 1945, Nkrumah participated in the organization of the sixth Pan-African Conference, returning to the Gold Coast in 1947 to become general secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention. Political and economic unrest led him to break away to form his own radical new Convention People’s Party (CPP) in 1949. After launching a campaign of civil disobedience in 1950 which resulted in

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some public disorder, he was jailed, but when his party won a huge majority in the colonial legislature in 1951, he was released and became the head of government. From this position he led the Gold Coast to independence, as Ghana, in 1957, and Nkrumah became prime minister. Despite his prestige and popularity in Africa, he was not successful at governing, and ruled in an increasingly autocratic fashion. In 1964 Nkrumah made Ghana a oneparty state and appointed himself president for life. The role was short-lived, however. Nkrumah was deposed in an American-sponsored military coup in 1966 and exiled to Guinea. He died alone in Romania, where he had gone to seek treatment for cancer.

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It should be noted that during times of national crisis, based on domestic or foreign factors or a combination of the two, constitutional governments have also allowed their chief executives to assume emergency quasidictatorial powers. In some cases, this has paved the way for duly elected national leaders to destroy democracy and then replace it with outright dictatorship. Among the most notable cases were those involving Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. In other cases, such as in the United States and Great Britain under the respective leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill during World War II, the utilization of extraordinary powers by the democratically elected national leader was halted when the wartime emergency came to an end.

D I C TA T O R S H I P I N C H I N A

Throughout history dictatorships have usually been renowned more for their negative impact than for their positive influence on the societies in which they ruled. One notable exception involved Ch’in Shih Huang Ti, the First Emperor of the Ch’in Dynasty in China. Destined to rule over the Chinese Empire for only a short time (221–206 B.C.E.), Ch’in’s was actually the first reign in a long succession of dynasties that held sway over the empire until 1911, when the imperial system was swept away in the tide of revolutionary change. The origins of the Ch’in state, located in northwest China with its center in contemporary Shensi Province, go back to the fourth century B.C.E., when the rulers of Ch’in adopted a political philosophy of an almost totalitarian type, known as legalism, and militarized their state in a way reminiscent of ancient Sparta. Legalism was a brutally statist philosophy, which held that its subjects, especially the mass of peasants and soldiers, existed only for the benefit of the ruler. Social regimentation was the norm: Discipline was maintained over the subject population with stringent laws and harsh punishments.

■ ■ ■ legalism: strict adherence to laws

Nevertheless, Ch’in proved to be a vibrant leader, keen to innovate along constructive lines. In its brief rule over China, Ch’in achieved a high degree of political unity in the empire; established many of the imperial institutions that were destined to endure for more than two millennia; instituted a uniform writing system for all of China; established a reasonably good communications system for the far-flung empire; and undertook agricultural reforms designed to increase production and improve distribution. Ch’in established the basis for a nationalist spirit, at once cultural and political, among the Chinese that has persisted to the present day: The Chinese people and their leaders continue to believe that all Chinese—that is, all people of whatever race who are Chinese by culture—ought to be as united politically under a common government as, mostly by their remarkably stable language, they are united culturally. Many aspects of Ch’in’s political authoritarianism have survived into the twenty-first century. More than a half-century after its inception, the People’s Republic of China’s 1.3 billion residents continue to be led by a one-party communist dictatorship, which presides over an enormous territory that covers half of Asia.

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An especially virulent type of dictatorship may be found in cases where a premium has been placed on genocide—annihilating large populations and their way of life—sometimes using scientific and technological means well suited to the mass killing of people as an organized bureaucratic enterprise. The twentieth century was blackened by many such cases, including: the annihilation of Armenians en masse in Turkey during World War I (1914–1918); the Nazi-directed Holocaust targeting millions of Jews, Slavs, Roma (gypsies), and other peoples in Europe before and during World War II (1939–1945); the slaughter of about a third of the population in Cambodia under the communist Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s and 1980s; the extermination by the Saddam Hussein regime (comprised mostly of Arab Sunni Muslims) of tens of thousands of ethnic Kurds, many of whom were also Sunni Muslims, and of Arab Shi’ite Muslims in Iraq in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; the mass murder of thousands of Muslims by elements of the Serbian population in Bosnia in the 1990s after the dissolution of the multiethnic Yugoslav state; and the massacre by a segment of the majority Hutu of tens of

RUSSIAN LEADER VLADIMIR LENIN SPEAKS TO HIS RED ARMY TROOPS IN MOSCOW IN MAY 1919. Socialist leader Vladimir Lenin headed the Communist Party (originally the

Bolshevik Party) that took power in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. Lenin oversaw the development of the USSR and planned for the “dictatorship of the proletariate,” but as his health declined, he witnessed great political unrest within the party. (SOURCE: © HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)

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thousands among the Tutsi minority in Rwanda in the 1990s. In all these cases and others, dictatorship assaulted human rights and individual dignity with the ultimate weapon: death. As a result, pressures have originated in those countries and the international community to apprehend, indict, and punish the perpetrators under a regime of law, in hopes of meting out justice and preventing a recurrence of state-sponsored genocide. See also: Democracy; Genocide; Hitler, Adolf; Nationalism; Oligarchy; Stalin, Joseph. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adelman, Howard, and Astri Suhrke, eds. The Path of Genocide: The Rwanda Crisis from Uganda to Zaire. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1999. Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. New York: Bantam Books, 1961. Conquest, Robert. The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet-Collectivization and the TerrorFamine. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Friedrich, Carl J., and Zbigniew K. Brzezinski. Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy, 2d ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965. Levi, Primo. Survival at Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity. New York: Touchstone Books, 1996. Melson, Robert F. Revolution and Genocide: On the Origins of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. Milgram, Stanley. Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. Neier, Aryeh. War Crimes: Brutality, Genocide, Terror, and the Struggle for Justice. New York: Times Books, 1998. Power, Samantha. “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Shute, Stephen, and Susan Hurley, eds. On Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures. New York: Basic Books, 1993. Werfel, Franz. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 1962.

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Djibouti

■ ■ ■ arable land: land suitable for the growing of crops monsoon: heavy rainfall usually associated with India and Southeast Asia

indigene: a person who has his origin in a specific region

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The Republic of Djibouti is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, along the strategic coastline between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. It is bordered by Eritrea on the north, Ethiopia on the west and south, and Somalia on the southeast. Djibouti covers an area of 23,000 square kilometers (8,958 square miles), consisting mainly of volcanic waste area with very little arable land. The climate is semi-arid to arid with very high temperatures and humidity during the monsoon seasons. The population of Djibouti was estimated around 467,000 in 2004. About 60 percent of the population is concentrated in the capital city of Djibouti; most of the rest of its residents are nomadic herders. The indigenous population is about evenly distributed between the Issa, who are of Somali origin, and the Afar, who are also found in Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Afar live in the northern part of the country, and the Issa inhabit the southern part. G O V E R N M E N T S

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The Port of Djibouti, which is connected by a railway line and an allweather road to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is the major source of income for Djibouti’s economy. ■ ■ ■ Djibouti had been a French colony since 1862. In 1977, following a referendum, referendum: a popular vote on legislation, brought before the people by their elected it became independent, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon (b. 1916), a senior Issa politileaders or public initiative cian, became the president of the Republic of Djibouti. Gouled formed a new political party, the People’s Progress Assembly, and Gouled and his party dominated Djibouti government for the next fifteen years. In 1986, Aden Robleh Waaleh, a former cabinet minister and political associate of Gouled, formed an opposition party known as the National Djiboutian Movement for the Restoration of Democracy. In 1991, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy, a new opposition group made insurrection: an uprising; an act of rebellion up of three insurgent Afar movements, launched a full-scale insurrection against an existing authority demanding political representation. In response, Gouled appointed a commission in 1992 to draft a new constitution to restore a multiparty system and to provide free elections. In May 1993, he won reelection to office in court of first instance: the first or lowest elections held under the new constitution. In 1999 Gouled announced that court in which a case or suit can be decided he would not seek reelection, and Ismael Omar Guelleh (b. 1947), the president’s nephew and principal advisor, succeeded him, winning the presidential elections held in April 1999. Red According to the constitution, the executive power of the DJIBOUTI Sea government is vested in the president, who is directly elected 50 Miles 25 0 E R I T R E A for a six-year term and may serve for no more than two terms. Perim (YEMEN) 0 25 The Council of Ministers is responsible to the president. The 50 Kilometers Doumêra legislative power is held by the Assemblé nationale (National Assembly), consisting of sixty-five members elected for five-year Ras Siyyân E T H I O P I A Mt. Mousa 6,630 ft. ab terms. The judicial system is headed by the Cour Supreme Khor Angar 2021 m. (Supreme Court), followed by a high court and a court of first Daimoli Godoria instance located in Djibouti. The legal system is based on French Dorra civil law, traditional practices, and Islamic law. According to Balho Ras al-Bir TS. Obock Freedom House, Djibouti’s scores for political rights, civil liberA M L AB M ties, and freedom have increased over the last several years, Gulf of Randa Tadjoura recovering from abysmal scores in the 1990s. But Djibouti is still Aden Daoudaouya Îles Moucha Golfe de rated as only a “partly free” nation. Sagallou Lake Gâlâfi Tadjoura 'Asal Djibouti Because of Djibouti’s strategic significance along the busiest Dorale Arta Yoboki Saacada sea route transporting Arab oil from Middle East to the West, Diin Chebelle Ga Loyada France has long maintained a strong military and technical presgg a P la d Holhol in e ence in Djibouti, and the United States established a base in Saylac Djibouti in 2002. Ali Ali Sabîh al

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Alwan, Daoud A., and Yohanis Mibrathu. Historical Dictionary of Djibouti. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000.

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Alwane, Ebo Houmed. “Djibouti: Tensions Socio-Politiques sun Fond de Succession.” Afrique Politique (1997):85–109.

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“Djibouti.” In CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. ⬍http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/dj.html⬎. Dubois, Colette. Djibouti 1888–1967: Heritage or Frustration? Paris: Edition L’Harmattan, 1997.

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Freedom House. “Djibouti.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. ⬍http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/ djibouti.htm⬎. Makinda, Samuel M. Superpower Diplomacy in the Horn of Africa. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987. Schraeder, Peter J. “Ethnic Politics in Djibouti: From ‘Eye of the Hurricane’ to ‘Boiling Cauldron.’” African Affairs 367 (1993):203–221. Thompson, Virginia, and Richard Adloff. Djibouti and the Horn of Africa. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1968.

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